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r 

SPRING DAYS IN 
TWO HEMISPHERES 



BY 
ISABELLA H. MATHEWS 



NEW YORK 

PUBLISHED BY PEYTON STEGER 

1908 



&*^' 



Copyright, 1908, by 

PEYTON STEGER 

July, 1908 

All Bights Reserved 



UMARY of eONGHESS 
I wo UoOiSB f(eceiv«« 

AUG \ i»0« 

COP Y B. 



THE QUINN ft BODEir CO. PRESS 
RAHWAY, N. J. 



To My Uncle 

George W. Brackenridge 

Who Made These Spring Days 

a Pleasant Reality 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

To Colonel and Mrs. A. L. Varney, to Miss Marion 
B. Fenwick, and to Miss M. Eleanor Brackenridge I 
am indebted for offerings to the contents of this little 
volume. It seems most fitting that their enjoyment 
of our delightful jaunt together should be expressed 
in their own interesting narratives. 

I. H. M. 



SPRING DAYS IN TWO 
HEMISPHERES 

En route from San Antonio to Honolulu, 

October 1, 190—. 

On the rear platform of a west-bound Pullman we 
stood, a party of four, watching the fast receding 
forms of friends and relatives. With our arms filled 
with flowers, candy, and books, and our eyes bright 
with anticipation, we had set out to overtake Spring 
on her yearly pilgrimage around the world, and to 
travel hand in hand with her over land and sea. Belt- 
ing the earth seemed, at the beginning of our jour- 
ney, a gigantic undertaking, but perils which 
then loomed threateningly as we parted from our 
loved ones were to become dwarfed as the days 
passed. 

After the dusty plains of Texas, New Mexico, and 
Arizona, California's orange and lemon groves were 
welcome at this season of the year. We could not 
tarry at the winter resorts so enticingly scattered 
along the way, but, resolving to return at some future 
date, continued the journey, unbroken, to San Fran- 
cisco — a delightful place in which to make prepara- 
tions for a lengthy ocean voyage, and, too, an excel- 



2 SPRING DAYS IN 

lent appetizer for the Orient. Chinatown's narrow 
streets and enchanting shops, its theatre, and its joss 
and tea houses, claimed all our attention, crowding 
out of our programme many interesting excursions 
within the city and along the coast. 

After a touching farewell from the servants of 
the Palace Hotel, regretting that we could not have 
more than five days in the city of hills, we drove 
to the Oceanic steamship pier and went aboard the 
ship which was to be our home for nearly three weeks. 
The stewards deftly arranged our modest luggage 
in the proper corners of the ample staterooms; we 
donned cap and jacket, promenaded the upper deck, 
and watched the crew making final preparations for 
the journey to Australia. Though armed with the 
latest and best remedies for mal-de-mer, we felt mis- 
givings in our hearts, for the sky was gray and low- 
ering. The news of an inauspicious happening re- 
duced our spirits to zero. An outward bound steamer 
had been wrecked the previous week, and her rescued 
passengers now swelled the Sonoma's list to its full 
capacity. 

The hurrying of passengers aboard, and friends 
ashore, was soon over. We were loosed from the pier, 
and the good ship plowed her way through the Golden 
Gate before night, and a heavy mist enveloped us. 

We will mercifully pass over, without comment, 
the next two days. At the end of this time, the storm 
had subsided. Forlorn passengers, one by one, made 
their appearance upon deck. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 3 

The sun shone warm and bright ; the waves, beaten 
down into a placid calm, looked quite innocent of the 
past tumult within and without the ship. Soon the 
voyagers were chatting to occupants of neighboring 
steamer chairs, speculating as to the ship's run of the 
day, or idly watching the flying-fish. As they be- 
came invigorated by the bracing salt breeze and sea 
baths, they entered heartily into games of quoits and 
cricket; and card parties, dancing, and the usual 
concerts, whiled away the evening hours. 

The majority of the Sonoma's passengers were 
English: first, there was a large sheep owner of 
New Zealand; then the Most Popular Opera Singer 
of Australia ; the typical Englishman with his mon- 
ocle ; a Socialist ; a Catholic priest ; an African mis- 
sionary; a Member of Parliament; and not a few 
commercial travellers. The only Americans besides 
ourselves were the Daniel B. Nugents, of St. Louis. 
This delightfully genial family thawed the cold ex- 
terior of every Englishman aboard. We imagined 
ours to be the joUiest set of passengers that had 
traversed the blue Pacific since many a voyage. 

On the seventh day, we were threading in and out 
of the Hawaiian Islands. Mother Earth looked fair 
indeed. We set oflp for a day ashore, even before the 
Sonoma was fast tied up at the dock. 

Mid-Pacific Ocean, October 15, 190 — . 
*' Honolulu the Beautiful," an appropriate name 
for the gem of the mid-Pacific, with its tropical 



4 SPRING DAYS IN 

growth of mangoes, breadfruit, and cocoanuts. 
Date palms were fruiting or blooming in clustering 
bunches of tiny yellow flowers ; hedges pink and red, 
with hibiscus and geraniums, added sweetness and 
coloring to the exquisite picture that greeted us. 

The traveller must dine at an Hawaiian cafe with 
a menu consisting of native dishes. Alligator-pear 
cocktails, fish cooked in ti-leaves, a native salad, and 
cocoanut ice cream made of the fresh milk make a 
meal sure to be relished by the most j aded palate. As 
we sipped a cup of cofi^ee and tasted the fruits and 
sweets, native women sang to us plaintive airs ac- 
companied by the ukeke, a diminutive guitar of four 
strings. Leis of flowers, pink, red, and white, en- 
circled the necks of the singers. It is a custom in 
Hawaii to present these strings of blossoms to friends 
returning from or beginning a journey. We dis- 
covered this when the Sonoma came into harbor ; 
the men, as well as the women, were gaily decorated. 
I was disappointed that I did not catch a glimpse 
of Queen Liliuokalani, but was consoled with copies 
of some quaint songs composed by her. 

Of course, we drove to the Pali — all strangers do, 
— where the wind blows strong and cold from over 
the sea, defying hat-pins and hair-pins. We en- 
deavored to talk, but could not hear each other above 
the wild wind and waves. History states that dur- 
ing the wars between the island chiefs, Kamehameha 
I. drove the Oahu troops over the bluff*; and that 
prior to 1820, here before a sacred stone, the natives 



TWO HEMISPHERES 5 

made offerings to their gods of Lightning, Wind, Sea, 
and Sky. The four chief gods were Kane, Kanaloa, 
Ku, and Lono. Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, who 
with her family lived in the mouth of the crater, was 
especially to be feared. When Christianity came 
to the islands, Kailu must have fled to India to live 
with the gods there. The names Kailu and Kali 
closely resemble each other, and their bloodthirsty 
dispositions would seem to make of the two a con- 
genial pair. 

At tea-time we called on our friends the Joseph 
Carters to say good-bye. These acquaintances of 
shipboard added much to our enjoyment, and also 
gave us something of an insight into modern Ha- 
waiian life, the nature of which is not to be learned 
from books. Loyalty to Hawaii is in the very air one 
breathes ; every resident, whether of native or foreign 
birth, catches its spirit. This may not be true of 
some sixty thousand Japanese and Chinese who live 
in Honolulu, but it is certainly true of the descend- 
ants of the missionaries to Hawaii. 

We took our departure with reluctance. It would 
have been joy to roam at will from island to island, 
daily learning more of the legend of their past. 
After another seven days' sailing in open ocean, we 
awoke one morning to find ourselves on the outer 
fringe of the East Indies. 

Though infinitesimal on the map of our world, 
these Samoan islands deserve a place in my narrative. 
In a cocoanut grove stretched upon a hillside are the 



6 SPRING DAYS IN 

grass huts of Pago Pago. Below them the Sonoma 
anchored in the sheltered horseshoe harbor, and we 
eagerly called for canoes to take us ashore. The ar- 
rival of a steamer in the harbor marks a red-letter day 
for the natives. As we stepped on shore, the carefree, 
happy people merrily displayed fans, beads, and 
mats for sale. We did not turn away empty-handed. 
The natives are lovers of vivid color and light hair. 
One bronzed, muscular fellow, tattooed all over his 
body, had a flaming hibiscus just behind each ear, 
and his kinky hair was glued tight to his skull with 
a paste made of baby-powder. At Pago Pago a 
Lieutenant of the United States Army with his wife 
and baby left us. On this wee isle of the Pacific 
they were to have their home for two years, isolated 
with only a handful of human beings, mostly natives. 
This, to my mind, was no less heroic than missionary- 
ing in Darkest Africa. 

Auckland, New Zealand, November 22, 190 — . 

Reaching New Zealand on the eighteenth day of 
October, we met spring weather and spring flowers. 
The orchards were in bloom, and summer was ap- 
proaching. On the countryside, nasturtiums and 
calla lilies grew in wild confusion with broom, gorse, 
and hawthorn. The green pastures were covered 
with sheep, some already shorn, some just ready for 
shearing. 

Auckland is a progressive town of over 60,000 in- 
habitants. The hospitality of New Zealand equals 



TWO HEMISPHERES 7 

that of the Old South. We had the pleasure of meet- 
ing the " Grand Old Man," Sir John Campbell, and 
were entertained at his beautiful residence, Kyl- 
bride-by-the-Sea. Cornwall Park, one of the most 
beautiful natural parks in the world, is the gift 
of Sir John Campbell to the people of New Zealand. 
We went with him to see its loveliness from various 
viewpoints especially loved by the donor, and before 
leaving we drank a cup of tea in a rustic arbor — 
a toast, " Long life and a happy one to our host." 
Many other colonists in a generous spirit welcomed 
the American party to their homes. 

The Auckland Museum deserves no small part of 
the traveller's time. Naturally the Maori collection 
attracts those interested in the history of New 
Zealand. In the exhibit is a war canoe eighty-two 
feet long, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and elaborately 
carved. This characteristic carving was used by 
the Maoris in decorating the interior of all houses 
of entertainment, the exteriors of store-houses, the 
handles of battle-axes and their crude cooking uten- 
sils and green stone tikis. The Maori chiefs wore 
robes made entirely of kiwi feathers, of which there 
were some handsome examples in the Exhibit. These 
aborigines of New Zealand are not unlike the Mexi- 
can Indians and are almost entirely confined to their 
reservation, Kingsland. One of their customs, laugh- 
able to us, is that of greeting one another by rub- 
bing noses. Another, prevalent among the women, 
is that of tattooing their chins — a process which 



8 SPRING DAYS IN 

does not add to their beauty. The Maori language 
contains but fourteen letters — a, e, i, o, u, g, h, k, m, 
n, r, t, p, w, — ^but I assure you these form jaw- 
breaking words. 

Having decided upon a three weeks' tour of the 
North Island, we took the train for Rotorua, drop- 
ping off at Okararire for a day. The beautiful 
natural baths and excellent trout fishing of Okararire 
attract many thither. The bracken-covered hills of 
the English novelist are actually there to be seen, 
and flowering snow-balls, wistaria, and purple and 
white iris; and just over the garden wall are vege- 
table beds producing peas, cauliflower, asparagus, 
and the like. What more could one wish for in 
October? 

We found in New Zealand a word new to us — 
" southerly " — ^which is the equivalent of a " norther " 
in Texas. One of these " southerlies " met us in 
Rotorua, straight from the snow mountains of the 
South Island. 

This is the beginning of the Thermal Regions, so 
often compared with Yellowstone Park. Geysers 
were spouting and the ground smoking from Old 
Nick's fires. The guides are Maoris, a settlement 
of whom live at Whakarewarewa, a suburb of Ro- 
torua. The natives bake their bread and boil their 
fish with the heat provided by nature's boiling 
springs. They also take hot baths in the open air, 
as composedly as though they were living in the Gar- 
den of Eden. The baths of Rotorua are supposed 



TWO HEMISPHERES 9 

to have valuable medicinal qualities. The wind which 
whistles through the chinks and cracks of the rude 
bath-houses, however, chills much of one's enthusiasm 
for the beneficial cUme. 

At the same hotel with us was Lieutenant-General 
Corbin, at that time commanding in the Philippines, 
who was sojourning in Rotorua for his health. With' 
him were Mrs. Corbin, his aide Major Babbitt, and 
Mrs. Babbitt. General Corbin commanded at Fort 
Sam Houston before the Spanish- American War. 
We also ran across the Nugents, who were taking the 
same side-trips as ourselves. To meet these Ameri- 
cans so soon again in Rotorua made us feel that the 
world was not so large after all. 

An ideal excursion is to spend a day on the waters 
of the twin lakes Rotorua and Rotoete. We went 
ashore twice, once to see the Hamurana Springs, 
which are much like the Blue Springs of the San 
Antonio River ; and once at a wee spot called Okere. 
A walk of half an hour from Okere brought us out 
on an overhanging cliff, surrounded by a tropical 
New Zealand forest. A mighty river, dashing along 
over rocks and through chasms, sent thundering 
echoes from cliff to cliff. Nature in its pure and 
primitive state was before us and around us, un- 
touched by the hand of man. It so affected us that 
then and there the controversy as to our next side- 
trip was settled in favor of a coaching journey into 
the growing life and heart of New Zealand's bush. 

Our first stop the following morning was Tikitere. 



10 SPRING DAYS IN 

I never thought on a tour of the face of the earth to 
find Hell's Gate and the Inferno, but we saw them at 
Tikitere, and spent the night there, too. It was not 
uncomfortably warm. The names given to the boil- 
ing springs and mud-geysers of New Zealand are, 
as a rule, more suggestive than those in the Yellow- 
stone, although at Waitapu there are " Primrose 
Terraces " and " Champagne Pools " for timid per- 
sons wishing to be soothed and sustained. We con- 
tinued undaunted, feeling sure that the worst was 
over. 

Twenty-six miles from Waitapu, sheltered by the 
surrounding mountains and very nearly hidden in 
the pines, was Wiaraki, a typical Maori name. The 
place consists of a handful of houses, most of them 
hotels. It is in the centre of the great geyser valley. 
Here we came to see the Great Wiaraki, the Crow's- 
Nest, and other geysers set in a fairy-like dell be- 
tween two high cliffs, up and down which one climbs 
with the assistance of a guide and a stout staff. The 
Arrateatea Falls of the Waikato River, which fully 
deserve their fame, divide honors with the Karatiti 
Blow Hole, which is also in this vicinity. This im- 
mense cavity continually blows out steam from the 
bowels of the earth, amid a constant rumble as of 
thunder. It is sometimes called the " Safety Valve of 
New Zealand." 

We continued the journey to Taupo, twenty miles 
distant. The coach-road followed the Waikato 
River, which, before reaching Taupo, flows through 



TWO HEMISPHERES 11 

a narrow chasm and forms the Huka Falls. We 
spent the night at the Spa, a rustic hotel which 
crouches under a bluff near Taupo. We climbed the 
bluff heroically, to see the last geyser, for here one 
bids farewell to the Thermal Region. From across 
Lake Taupo one sees a group of snow-capped moun- 
tains — Tongariro, Nganruhoe, and Ruapehu. I can 
bear testimony to the fact that this little lake rivals 
the English Channel in roughness. 

Have you ever ridden seven hours in an open rig, 
through mud up to the hubs, with the rain coming 
down at intervals in torrents.'' That was our ex- 
perience on the last day of our coaching trip. When 
we felt the first sprinkle, we arose as one person 
and tightly wrapped our steamer rugs about us, so 
that we looked like a group of American Indians. 
The task of holding our umbrellas up straight and 
avoiding a tumble into the mud kept us fully oc- 
cupied. In the afternoon, however, the sun tantaliz- 
ingly broke through the clouds and the road for a 
time became more bearable. Then we looked about 
us and realized that we were passing the most unu- 
sual scenery of all this wonderful trip, in a region 
well described by its name — " The Gorgeous Forest 
of the Waimarine." Strange birds in lofty branches 
warbled plaintively; giant tree-ferns grew upon the 
mountain-sides ; and blooming parasites vied with 
each other in color and size. All the way the road 
ran beside a swollen mountain-stream. About four 
o'clock the driver, whose good-humor had vanished 



12 SPRING DAYS IN 

with the coming of the rain, condescended to tell us 
that we were nearing Pipireki. This we found to 
be a charming little summer resort just waking up 
for the season. Muddy from head to foot, we tum- 
bled out of the wagonette upon the hotel veranda. 
The visitors had congregated to see who the new 
arrivals were, and doubtless dubbed us " those eccen- 
tric Americans." 

Pipireki in itself is of little interest, though pic- 
turesquely situated upon the banks of the Wanganui 
River. The Wanganui is a .clear and broad stream, 
flowing through a new country peopled by Maoris. 
After a day of rest, we boarded one of the tiny 
steamers that ply between Pipireki and the coast, 
a.nd enjoyed a day on this " Rhine of New Zealand." 
" But," as one writer so aptly comments, " these 
banks are not the result of centuries of civilization, 
they have no ruined castles, walled cities, vineyards, 
or cultivated landscapes. The Wanganui has beauty 
of naturalness, freshness, and restfulness." 

Adelaide, Australia, December 14, 190 — . 
We were met here by homefolks, thousands of miles 
from home, on the pier at Sydney. And what a 
happy meeting it was! This was the half of our 
party which had started first and which for three 
weeks had been waiting in Australia for our coming. 
Questions and answers, messages, letters, news- 
papers — all the news of home had to come before a 
bit of sightseeing was undertaken. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 13 

If an American were dropped unawares in New 
Zealand, he would say at once, " This is not my native 
soil." But Australia, to us, is another United States. 
Even the faces of those one passes in the streets look 
almost famihar. And perhaps we should have felt 
equally at home in Sydney, if we could have become 
used to the way in which the carriages, carts, and 
street-cars there reversed the order of things as we 
know it — going up the left instead of the right side 
of the street. To us this seemed topsy-turvy, and 
we constantly expected traflSc to become congested. 

In Sydney, the oldest and best city of Australia, 
the shops are excellent, though they are six months 
behind the rest of the world in style, because of the 
reversed seasons. But even if the spring hats in 
the windows were exact facsimiles of my last April 
one, I must admit that we have nothing to compare 
in our country with Sydney's great organ, on which 
public recitals are given weekly. On the afternoon 
when we went, the programme was exceptionally fine. 

Sydney's botanical gardens are very good; one 
can roam in them at will upon curving paths, and 
see many rare specimens of plants, trees, and shrubs. 
Adjacent to the botanical gardens is the Zoo, and 
naturally the interest of the party centred in the 
kangaroo, the duck-billed platypus, and the emu. It 
has been said that " the Australian birds have no 
song, the flowers no perfume, and the trees shed their 
bark instead of their leaves." All of this is quite 
true, most certainly the first ; for upon this particu- 



14 SPRING DAYS IN 

lar occasion a cockaborrow, or laughing jackass, 
awoke a hundred sleeping parrots who, frantically 
flapping their wings, tried in discordant concert to 
outdo that one small bird, but their efforts were in 
vain. 

There is a remarkable public garden in Sydney 
called The Domain or People's Parliament. Here 
every crank — social, political, or religious — ^may air 
his hobby unmolested to his heart's content. The place 
is usually filled with a moving crowd, reminding one 
by its size and good-nature of the people at a country 
fair. They drift from one platform to another, Hs- 
tening to the discourses of the speakers. We saw 
no women champions of any cause, though Sydney is 
the home of the Liberal League and the Political 
Education League, two political organizations of 
women. More than forty thousand members of these 
live in Sydney alone, and there are many out-of- 
town members as well. We met socially the presi- 
dents. Miss Rose Scott and Mrs. Montaux Parks, 
and a himdred other women more or less prominent 
in politics. Without an exception we found them 
cultured, refined, and even brilliant women. Miss 
Vida Goldstein, an intellectual young woman of Mel- 
bourne, is president of the Women's Political Asso- 
ciation and editor of a monthly magazine. At the 
First International Woman's Suffrage Convention, 
which met in Washington, Miss Goldstein, as dele- 
gate from New Zealand and Australia, was appointed 
secretary. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 15 

" The men of Australia say that women have no- 
ticeably improved political Hfe, that it is cleaner 
and purer because of them, and that rowdyism flees 
before them. The women say that they have not 
found it any more disagreeable to go to a polling 
place and vote than to go to a shop and buy thread, 
and that invariably they have been treated with the 
greatest respect." 

Parliament was in session at Melbourne, and one 
morning we attended it as the guest of Mr. Thomas 
Skene. After the meeting had adjourned, we had a 
pleasant surprise in the form of a luncheon served 
in one of the upper galleries of ParHament House. 
Miss Skene, our hostess, was assisted on this occa- 
sion by Lady Forrest, wife of Sir John Forrest, 
treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia. 
Twenty prominent members of ParHament, in- 
cluding Prime Minister Deakin, were invited to 
meet us. I, for one, was not prepared to answer 
the questions fired from right and left by these wise 
men. It would have bothered the President himself 
to have answered some of their queries of national 
import. 

Melbourne is much like San Francisco, a city of 
hills, with pleasure resorts and hotels along its water- 
front. In the colonies, one cannot step outside of 
one's hotel door without encountering a statue of 
Queen Victoria. The hotel itself is likely to be named 
for her, or the theatre toward which you are making 
your way. If I had been Her Majesty, however, I 



16 SPRING DAYS IN 

think I should have taken some measures to suppress 
*' Victoria Saloons." 

On the way to Adelaide, one passes through a 
varying landscape. A few miles out of Melbourne, 
Ballarat and the mining district are reached. Pass- 
ing rapidly through acres of thirsty land, one comes 
to forests of pine and eucalyptus, of which there 
are many varieties, growing to a remarkable height. 
Spring was by this time rapidly giving way to 
summer, as the fine orchards, vineyards, and grain 
fields in the cultivated districts testified. Beautiful 
wild flowers grew near the track, reminding us of 
the velvety carpets of blue-bonnets (lupines) which 
stretch over the prairies of Texas in springtime. 

Adelaide is a city of numerous parks and play- 
grounds. On Saturday the shops close at noon, and 
the healthy colonists, who play as hard as they work, 
are out for a holiday. The golf links, cricket fields, 
and tennis courts then overflow with players and 
spectators. The hotel at which we stayed was just 
opposite Parliament House. On Saturday the Gov- 
ernor closed Parliament, and we hung over the 
balcony and enjoyed the pomp and ceremony fully 
as much as if it had been a circus parade. The 
bands played, cannons boomed, and enough fuss was 
made and gold lace flaunted to satisfy the most loyal 
subject. 

On the first day here we met some Fiji islanders. 
Luckily they were accompanied by a missionary, or 
we might have run away instead of staying to look 



TWO HEMISPHERES 17 

them over. They are indeed remarkable people, with 
their flat noses, thick lips, and extraordinarily bushy 
hair. Around the neck of one was strung shell 
money, made of alternate discs of sea-shells and 
cocoanut-shells. Sperm-whale teeth and vertebrae of 
snakes are also much in vogue in Fiji as neck 
ornaments. 

In every country the original inhabitant Is of 
peculiar interest; consequently it was disappointing 
to us not to see a single aborigine of Australia. The 
baskets of colored grasses made by them are very 
pretty, and we found them useful on our shopping 
expeditions. One day in Melbourne, while leisurely 
sauntering through the Museum, having grown a 
little weary of boomerangs, darts, spears, knives, 
and hatchets, our curiosity was aroused by a group 
of men looking at some object in one of the glass 
cases. As we approached, they turned away with 
some embarrassment. In the case was a specimen 
of an ulpirara, a trumpet with which to charm 
women. How crude is the savage's substitute for 
Huyler's and American Beauties ! 

For the excursion that we made to Mt. Lofty, we 
chose a clear, cool spring day — delightful, though 
the wind was a little brisk for automobiling. The 
ascent is gradual from the time one leaves Adelaide ; 
nearing the summit, we passed many country homes. 
Australia has almost more than her share of natural 
picnic grounds. Mt. Lofty is the most attractive 
of them all. 



18 SPRING DAYS IN 

On the way homeward, we gathered flowers to 
press, as mementoes of our last day in Australia. On 
the morrow we were to sail for India. 

S. S. Macedonia, Indian Ocean, 

December 25, 190—. 

The Macedonia touched the western coast of 
Australia for a day at Fremantle, where we took 
the opportunity of renewing our pleasant relations 
with our friends the Forrests. They have a charm- 
ing place at Perth, only a few miles from Fremantle. 
Sir John was not at home, but Lady Forrest made 
us very welcome. She is an artist and musician of 
ability, and very clever with the camera. She 
grouped the party skillfully on the lawn in front 
of The Bungalow and took several pictures of us. 
Meanwhile, the gardener gathered huge bouquets of 
roses for our staterooms. We planned to meet 
these friends in London, whither they were shortly 
to go. 

We became again passengers on the big ship 
Macedonia. There is prevalent in England and the 
colonies a general feeling that the officers of the P. 
& O. liners are an extremely dignified and formal 
group of men. As a matter of fact, however, they 
were very cordial and hospitable in their relations 
with our party and we all have the most pleasant 
memories of them. 

It was in this wise: On the twenty-third the Daily 
Bulletin announced a fancy dress dinner and dance 



TWO HEMISPHERES 19 

for Christmas Eve, and we, with a Colonel of the 
United States Army, the only Americans aboard, de- 
cided that Columbia must have a representative. But 
the making of a suitable costume and the decision as 
to who should wear it devolved upon the feminine 
portion of the party. They selected " Chica " for 
the part. As a working foundation for the cos- 
tume, I unearthed from a "land trunk" a white 
point d'esprit dress. We hoped to make the fancy 
garnitures from red and blue bunting. 

The Purser, as every one knows, is the long- 
suffering helper of the helpless, and the first resort 
in time of need. We hurried to his office-cabin, but 
he could do nothing for us in the way of bunting, and 
sent us to the First Officer. We made our request of 
the First Officer, who, smiling, gave us all he had — 
about a yard of blue and red. We were accosted 
on deck by the Fifth Officer, who, having heard 
that we wanted an American flag, in a somewhat 
shamefaced manner offered me a small silk one. 
We strongly suspected it to be a gift to him 
from some American girl on a previous voyage. 
We accepted the loan of the small emblem for the 
day. 

The ladies congregated in my cabin as the work 
of decorating the frock began. 

" You must have stars to spangle the skirt," said 
the Colonel's wife. 

" And a crown," said the loving Aunt. 

As a last resource we visited the barber shop ; and. 



20 SPRING DAYS IN 

as we looked over a miscellaneous collection of ob- 
jects, " Lacy Lucky " spied some chocolate wafers 
wrapped in silver paper. 

" The very thing ! " we exclaimed in chorus, and 
bought the entire supply. From the silver paper 
and a cardboard box we constructed the crown. The 
head dining-room steward, our guardian angel, vol- 
unteered to make the stars. 

The party was kept waiting fully ten minutes for 
dinner on Christmas Eve, owing to the fact that 
" Columbia," not being used to regal honors, found 
it a somewhat lengthy task to make her crown se- 
cure ; but, when we entered the dining saloon, a ripple 
of applause circled the room, beginning at the Cap- 
tain's table, a spontaneous compliment to the land 
we represented. Many of the costumes there were 
admirably designed. A beautiful bride, who was 
travelling to India with her entire bridal party, was 
dressed like a nun in white sheet draperies, with a 
rope encircling her waist. 

The dance on deck was a huge success. The 
pianist in his enthusiasm had taken too much of the 
cup that cheers, but a good-natured passenger vol- 
unteered to play impromptu. Columbia endeavored to 
teach several young Britishers how to two-step, a proc- 
ess more entertaining than instructive. Prizes were 
awarded for the best costume. The lovely bride re- 
ceived the first prize ; the second was given to a young 
lady who wore a barrister's costume and who told me 
in confidence that her wig was causing her as much 



TWO HEMISPHERES 21 

trouble as Chica's crown. Only two prizes were to 
have been given, but a special one — the prettiest of 
all, many said — was presented to Columbia. It was 
a little travelling clock, which she still treasures as 
one of her dearest possessions. 

There were ever so many interesting types aboard 
— rather too many to keep tally of; so Chica con- 
tented herself with the society of four young men, 
brothers and students in Melbourne University. 
They were on their summer vacation, taking a jaunt 
through India with their mother. This family oY 
five had been all over the world together. It was a 
pleasure to listen to their interesting comments, and 
to see the deference these young men showed their 
charming mother. 

There was also a titled lady aboard, different from 
others of her kind that we had met. She was a 
person of whom I had some knowledge from reading. 
She sat alone on deck, knitting for hours at a time, 
and addressed none. Nor did she seem to desire con- 
versation, so I for one was content to leave her in 
peace. 

A Christmas Day on the Indian Ocean is vastly 
different from one on land, with its sleighing and 
snowballing, and the cold that bites one's fingers and 
toes. Punkahs, native fans, were being pulled lazily 
by dusky Indians. We were clad in our crispest 
white gowns, and the men, following the lead of the 
ladies, had donned spotless duck suits. The ocean 
was as still as a mill pond. Scarcely a ripple dis- 



22 SPRING DAYS IN 

turbed its surface save where the Macedonia dipped 
her bow. 

Colombo, Ceylon, January 1, 190 — . 

We reached " the spicy shores of Ceylon " at four 
in the morning two days after Christmas. The noise 
and confusion, caused by the coahng of the vessel, 
and by the vendors coming aboard, would have awak- 
ened " The Seven Sleepers " ; so we quickly decided 
to leave our beds and go ashore. On this occasion 
the usual customs inspection was not rigid, and, on 
being told that the Bristol Hotel was only a short 
distance from the pier, we decided to walk there. 
We regretted the decision, however, no sooner than 
it was acted upon, for we were besieged on every 
side by enterprising merchants who spotted us at 
once as tourists and consequently easy victims. 

That one can buy things for a song in Ceylon may 
be true, but really pretty souvenirs are hard to find. 
After much haggling and loss of temper, the inex- 
perienced purchaser retires discomfited, with a light 
purse and carrying away some useless things he does 
not want ; and he realizes that the merchant knows 
the article to be valueless. This adds insult to 
injury. 

On the first morning we were surrounded and fol- 
lowed by a crowd of little folks begging. One car- 
ried a flower which she shyly extended when by chance 
she caught one of us looking her way ; but we feigned 
indifference, for to give to one meant to give to 



TWO HEMISPHERES 23 

others and so attract more followers. By and by 
" Lacy Lucky " was handed a big stick by an older 
native, who said, "Beat 'em. Lady, beat 'em." They 
were unafraid, and conducted us like a bodyguard to 
the very doors of the hotel. 

The Singalese full dress is really a very simple cos- 
tume, consisting of a cloth wrapped about the waist 
and falling to the knee, and a turban. Sometimes a 
derby hat is substituted for the turban, in which 
case a coat also is usually worn. This combination 
of civilized dress and native undress is comical. The 
men are effeminate in their adornment; they wear 
their hair long and tuck it up with tortoise-shell 
combs. 

A most amazing sight is the washermen beating 
clothes upon the rocks at the riverside. This is no 
figure of speech, for when the process of washing 
is in operation, it reminds one of the Western ex- 
pression " killing snakes." Imagine a white organdie 
dress returned from such a flaying ! 

The mention of snakes brings to mind the crawling 
things that every traveller expects to find in Ceylon 
and India. As a matter of fact, three centipedes 
were the only creatures that disturbed our equanimity 
while we were there. However, a bird did build a 
nest in my room. 

The following accounts are taken from letters 
written home : the first is my own ; the other two were 
written by the Aunt and " Lacy Lucky." 



U SPRING DAYS IN 

Early Morning in Colombo. 
To the Cousins: 

I wish to write to you about a unique ride that 
Aunt Ruth and I took at peep o' day; for, as you 
know, that is the time to go sightseeing in tropical 
Ceylon. The midday sun is piercing hot, and one 
unaccustomed to its intense rays must beware. 

After a generous cup of tea, we selected, out of 
a group of beseeching Singalese, who are far worse 
than our cabmen at home, the two having the least 
rickety jinrikshas, and were soon on our way. The 
graceful bronze natives ran on at an easy pace, 
seemingly tireless. This mode of travel reminds one 
of baby-carriage days and wheelbarrow rides. 

Winding in and out through brightly turbaned 
groups of happy, carefree natives, and passing near 
enough to the native carts to reach out and touch 
the sides of the patient little bullocks, we soon 
reached the cinnamon gardens. Here we gathered 
the red beans, which are much like our laurel and 
which the natives in Ceylon, Honolulu, and through- 
cut the East Indies string for necklaces. 

Aunt Ruth, as usual, soon had a crowd of little 
folk about her, eager and quick to help — ^brown little 
fellows, almost unclothed save for their rings, which 
they wore not only in their ears, but on their toes 
as well. Many cinnamon trees were in bloom. Their 
broad, glossy leaves when crushed give forth a de- 
licious odor. We saw also noble banyan, palm, and 
bamboo trees, and many others unfamiliar to me. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 25 

The fruit market was next on our programme, and 
we found it much like the Mexican ones. In it were 
sold pineapples, yak-fruit, mangoes, and milk and 
water cocoanuts, fresh and juicy. The oranges were 
different from ours both in flavor and size. The wood- 
apple is indeed very aptly named, for the shell we 
found hard to break. 

While you are on your way to church, we are pok- 
ing our noses into Buddhist temples, looking at the 
shrines which enclose the sacred trees, guarded by 
the four-eyed dog, a creature close akin to the com- 
mon cur. Natives with noiseless footsteps come and 
go with offerings of flowers, flags, and oil; yellow- 
robbed priests flit here and there. We rub our eyes 
and wonder whether this is not all a page from the 
Arabian Nights. 

December 30, 190—. 
With carriage and guide, book, map, pencil, and 
paper, we made an effort this morning to learn 
something of Ceylon's fruits. We two ladies made 
our way to the market-place and were soon the 
centre of a crowd who gathered to watch us, for in 
this teeming land the natives flock like blackbirds, 
and with even more noise, at the sight of anything 
unusual. Simultaneously appeared a native police- 
man armed with an ebony club and clad in European 
dress. These officials, as a rule, can speak English 
and are polite and observant. With his intelligent 
assistance, we were able to make a good collection 



26 SPRING DAYS IN 

of native fruit. The most useful fruits are the 
plantain, or banana, and the cocoanut. The most 
unique is the wood-apple, of which there are two 
varieties: one, which is very sour, quite round, and 
of the color of old neglected grass ; the other looks 
and smells like an apple, but there the resemblance 
ceases. There is no cutting into it with a knife. It 
took a Singalese with an iron bar and all his strength 
and grace to break the hard shell and disclose its 
saffron-colored meat filled with small, gray seed. 
When ripe, this fruit is delicious. It is semi-glutinous 
and one eats it with a spoon. 

Papi, the fruit of the melon-tree, looks and tastes 
like a melon with a remote pumpkin ancestry. It is 
rich in pepsin. The taste is not good, but improves 
with repeated tests. The pineapples are small. The 
oranges are delicious when you sample them, but 
somehow after purchase prove to be insipid hme 
hybrids. 

There are two varieties of palm or cocoanut: the 
cocoanut with which in its closed or husk state we 
are all familiar; and the king palm nut, which is 
of a gold color. It is easily cut with a knife. The 
contents of one were poured out into a glass for 
our refreshment and tasted like mild and pleasant 
lemonade. The jack fruit is an astonishing product, 
almost startling in its habit of growth. It begins 
as a small, star-like flower, appearing anywhere on 
the trunk, the large limbs, or the small boughs of its 
tree. Jack fruit no larger than thimbles will be 



TWO HEMISPHERES 27 

found on a tree a few feet from other jack fruit of 
ponderous size. In short, in all its phases of growth 
it shows a wonderful instinct for hanging itself 
where it will not break off. 

Our next excursion was in the shopping district, 
where we hoped, with the aid of our guide, to acquire 
a white umbrella and a blouse. The result of this 
trip was that we returned to the hotel quite dilapi- 
dated, without the blouse and with only a small 
black umbrella, for which we have no use, as a 
trophy. The noisy vociferations of the guide and 
the persistence of the merchants wore us out so that 
we were glad to get away at the small charge of four 
rupees, nominally for the umbrella. 

Fortunately, before reaching the merchandise 
quarter, we passed through a street in which there 
were three Hindu temples. They were grotesque in 
appearance and looked something Hke children's play- 
houses — too fantastic, that is to say, to have been 
made for anything but amusement. Dragons and 
other creatures in various stages of decay were 
crawling all over the outside of the oldest temple, 
which apparently was abandoned, since it contained 
no gods. The other two temples were, I suppose, 
of the same design, but the street was so narrow and 
crowded and, with the exception of a few feet in 
front of the temples, so unswept that we found it 
impossible to give them our undivided attention, or 
to occupy standing-room in the street for the time 
necessary to inspect them. We tried it another time 



28 SPRING DAYS IN 

on foot, but a crowd of solemn, statuesque natives, 
dark as ebony, surrounded us each, time we halted. 
So we moved on. The crowds, however, are thor- 
oughly respectful, though in some places the vendors 
are very importunate. 

AH through this ride the persistent voice of Chica 
went on after this fashion : *' What is that turban 
there.? What dress has that guide.? Oh, say, what 
is that red cap ? There's a white-robed figure. Guide 
— what nationality ? Oh, see the man with the yellow 
robe! What is he. Guide? Show me another priest. 
Oh, wait until I make a note. Oh, Aunt Nonie, isn't 
that fine.? Did you say that yellow robe was a 
Hindu priest.? Oh, the white, is it? And the Turk 
has the red fez.? Well, what's the white turban.? 
What's his religion ? There's a white cap ; what's 
that religion? What's the religion of that white 
cap with the red top? See, Aunt Nonie, he has a 
colored top to his cap. What's his religion? " In 
fact, Chica, having been a Presbyterian and reared 
a Methodist, having received attentions from a Jew 
and the Church of England, and being half-way en- 
gaged to a Catholic shows that she is a little confused 
in the matter of religions. She now claims to be a 
Buddhist. 

January 1, 190 — . 
What a strange New Year's Day! The electric 
fans are whirling merrily, and we consider it prudent 
to remain indoors. At six o'clock, however, the whole 



TWO HEMISPHERES 29 

party went for a 'riksha ride. The sun was just 
sinking into the sea as we turned into the Galla 
Face Road. The sky was aglow with a peaceful 
amber tint, and on the horizon a throne of blue 
bordered with gold was awaiting to receive the king 
of day. The whitecaps tossed and broke on the 
maroon-tinted beach, and the restless waters eter- 
nally sang and sighed. The boulevard was filled with 
handsome turnouts. Many rich natives were out in 
fine equipages, and their striking costumes, with the 
bright turbans of their coachmen, made a gay pic- 
ture. Countless people from many lands, in 'rikshas 
and on foot, were on the promenade, which is one of 
the most fashionable in the world. 

We turned off and followed the road that skirtefl 
Slave Island. It was now growing dark, and the 
many white buildings — the Hindu temple covered 
with peacock eyes, the Mohammedan mosque with its 
crescent tips fired, and the Cathedral with its cross — 
made a beautiful panorama. Hundreds of lights 
came out and were mirrored in the water. Soft music 
filled the air. 

The visit to the market resulted in a native fruit 
dinner on New Year's Eve, much enjoyed by all the 
party. In the menu were the fruits which I have 
already described; also a bread-fruit curry, which 
we all pronounced delicious. The bread-fruit, unlike 
most strange fruit, does not require cultivated taste 
for its appreciation. Peg-nuts, too, we had, which 
when split open resemble butter-beans, and are also 



30 SPRING DAYS IN 

pleasant to the taste. The mangoes have a strong 
resemblance to the Mexican fruit of the same name, 
but the seeds are smaller and the meat is more tender. 

Kandy, Ceylon, January 1, 190 — . 

This is New Year's Eve, and the corridor and 
writing-rooms are filled with men and women writing 
letters doubtless to friends far away. As it is Sun- 
day, the fakirs are hushed, although they are in 
evidence and wear an expectant expression. 

On Friday night after ten o'clock, the " lay mem- 
ber " and I decided to go to Kandy on the following 
morning. Our reason for this hasty decision was 
" rates." Did you ever hear of an American who 
was not on hand at a bargain sale? We ordered 
breakfast to be ready at half-past six in the morn- 
ing ; but it took a great amount of prodding to move 
the dusky procession of obsequious attendants. It 
was seven o'clock before we got our tea, bread, butter, 
and plantains, the invariable menu of early break- 
fast. The hours for early breakfast are from any 
time in the morning until nine. Regular breakfast 
is from nine until twelve. Tiffin is from one to two ; 
afternoon tea from four to half -past five ; and dinner 
from seven-thirty to nine. If one wishes so to man- 
age, one can spend most of the time at eating. 

After hastily swallowing our cups of real Ceylon 
tea, we hurried to the tram. Our ignorance of the 
locality and the fact that the conductor knew no 
English were the cause of our getting off at the 



TWO HEMISPHERES 31 

wrong station, the right one being about five blocks 
further on. 

" We shall no^ have time to walk," said the " lay 
member." 

" No, indeed," I replied. " We've not a moment 
to lose." 

" Shall we take a 'riksha or a cart drawn by 
a sacred bull.'' " asked the " lay member." 

Both the 'riksha men and the drivers of the sacred 
bulls, who were looking on from a distance, under- 
stood the situation and began to move down upon 
us. 

" Here," said the " lay member," " let's take this 
cart. It will never do to say that we have not been 
drawn at least once by a sacred bull. We want ex- 
perience, and now is our chance." We jumped in. 
Our coachman had the eyes of a NeapoHtan boy ; and 
he was a pugilist with his feet. 

" Hurry up ! " said the " lay member " to him. 
" We must catch the next train." The coachman 
used his feet vigorously on his beast, kicking first 
with one foot and then with the other. The animal 
may have moved, but I did not have my glasses and 
cannot swear to it. 

" Can't you go faster ? " inquired the " lay 
member." 

Another kick ; two more kicks. " I think we had 
better walk," I said. 

" If you don't get us there in time for the train, 
we will not pay you a cent," said the " lay member," 



32 SPRING DAYS IN 

in a most threatening manner, at the same time peer- 
ing over the dashboard to see whether the animal was 
really there. 

" It wouldn't be so bad," I said, by way of apology 
for the sacred creature, " if we were not trying to 
catch a train." 

Several more kicks from the boy. I wanted to 
remind him that he was probably kicking his grand- 
father, but in the circumstances I thought it might 
be more expedient to say that perhaps he was get- 
ting even with his stepmother. We reached the train 
in time, but our experience convinced us that, in com- 
parison with a sacred bull, a Texas burro is a 
" Nancy Hanks." 

On the way to Kandy there is much to see. The 
lowlands are very marshy, and the openings in the 
cocoanut grove are filled with rice paddis. Many 
large and strange flowering trees were to be seen in 
the forest, and the marshes were filled with pink 
water-lilies. Creeping vines rounded off all angles, 
and the hillsides appeared to be hung with a green 
drapery. White cranes hovered over the marshes in 
great numbers and flickered through the air like 
huge flakes of snow. The fine wagon road wound 
in and out through the hills. The whole country 
teems with life, though scarcely with activity. In 
the high country, the red hillsides are covered with 
tea-gardens and are terraced, giving the eff^ect of a 
rippling, green cascade. Before Kandy is reached, 
the scenery grows very beautiful, but it is nowhere 



TWO HEMISPHERES 33 

bold or rugged, for the luxurious foliage covers 
everything. 

Kandy is the holy city of the Buddhists. Here 
all the relics of Buddha are kept. We arrived at 
eleven o'clock, in time for breakfast, with keen appe- 
tites. It would be difficult to imagine a scene of 
more perfect Oriental beauty than the view from the 
corridor of the " Queen's Hotel." The town is sur- 
rounded on aU sides by green hills ; its situation re- 
minded me more of Ouray, Colorado, than any place 
I can think of, although it has none of the bold 
scenery of the Rockies. 

An artificial lake — ^'* artificious " the guide called 
it, — ^named Lake Maha, or Great Lake, lies within 
a few rods of the hotel. It is surrounded by a low 
parapet of stone indented like a castle wall. In the 
centre of the lake is a beautiful islet covered with 
trees and vines whose branches hang down into the 
water. This lake is the work of an early Raj ah. No 
fishing is allowed there, nor are boats permitted 
on it. 

Among the green, vine-clad hills about Kandy one 
can catch glimpses of white villas. These, with their 
gilded domes, and the little red-tiled shops, the many 
hanging baskets that make gay the colonnades, and 
the inhabitants in the garb of many nations and 
many castes, make a striking picture. 

But it is chiefly the temple, and above all " The 
Tooth " that the idle visitor, as well as the devout 
worshipper, comes to see. The temple, which was 



34 SPRING DAYS IN 

built in the fourteenth century, is only a short walk 
from the Queen's Hotel. As we strolled " Lady Gor- 
don's walk," trying to attune our spirits to the 
sacred place, we were accosted by an intelligent guide 
whom we at once engaged. We determined to loolc 
neither to the right nor to the left, for we had 
found that an enquiring glance often cost us a fee. 

At the entrance of the temple are massive stone 
steps carved with many hieroglyphics. On either side 
of these steps are pools in which live sacred turtles. 
There are fifty of these, and they are supposed to be 
reincarnated. They paddle about and stretch their 
necks in the same ungainly way as their cousins, the 
plebeian turtles of the Gulf Coast. 

" See how the little things love the sunshine," said 
the guide, as some of them crawled up on the edges 
of the pool. 

To one who has the time and inclination to delve 
into the mysteries of Buddhism, this temple offers 
especial advantages, and even one who passes hastily 
through it will find much to interest, much to amuse, 
and, I was about to say, much to sadden. But why 
should we not rather rejoice that these people have 
found a faith so satisfying to their souls? 

All about this sacred temple are ropes hung with 
flags intended for offerings, but which now more than 
anything else suggest a doll's washing. We skirted 
about for some time in the outer courts; we visited 
the Hall of Justice, where to the present day Court 
is held, and passed through corridors where worship- 



TWO HEMISPHERES S5 

pers were squatting about, chanting their songs or 
absorbed in their silent devotions. Others of them 
were absorbed in their efforts to turn an honest 
penny by selKng the flowers which had been brought 
as offerings and had served their purpose. 

In the outer court is an illustrative frieze of rude 
pictures representing the punishments that await 
those who break the commandments of Buddha. 
Women who disobey their husbands are pecked to 
death by crows; extortionate tax-collectors are run 
through with sharp irons. Many other sins have 
their just punishments, but these two appeared to me 
to be most singular. 

We did not pay as much attention to this, how- 
ever, as we might have if we had not been thinking 
of The Tooth, but at last we were sufficiently initiated 
to enter the Holy of Holies, which we were allowed 
to do on paying a rupee. The air was heavy with 
the perfume of flowers, many thousands of which 
are offered every day at this shrine, only the corollas 
being used. The flowers are of two kinds : the 
fragrant champac, or flower of the temple-tree ; and 
the blossoms of the ironwood or Na-Tree. Both these 
flowers are white, with a slight dash of pink. Their 
odor is as distinct and as oppressive as that of the 
jessamine or tuberose. The chief image of Buddha 
is of pure crystal and is kept enclosed in a cabinet 
of silver and ivory. This was opened for us to look 
into. Just at this time I could not refrain from ask- 
ing about The Tooth. The guide pointed to the 



36 SPRING DAYS IN 

awful sanctuary, to reach which you must pass two 
pairs of large elephants' tusks which serve as a por- 
tal. There is a wonderful door to this shrine, but we 
were told that it would not be opened until six, 
when the devout came to worship. 

" Can't we see The Tooth.'' " we asked, very much 
aggrieved. 

" At six," was the reply. But we afterwards 
learned that The Tooth was never exhibited except 
on state occasions, and then with much ceremony ; 
and that only the box in which it reposes is ordi- 
narily seen. The Tooth is described as an oblong 
piece of discolored ivory, tapering to a point, and 
about one and one-fourth inches in length and a half- 
inch diameter at the base. It is said that it does 
not in the least resemble a human tooth, but looks 
much more like that of a pig or a crocodile. 

Like many another tooth, this one has given a 
great deal of trouble. An Indian princess is said to 
have carried it for some time in her dusky tresses. 
The Brahmins have made many efforts to destroy 
this tooth, but, like " truth crushed to earth," it has 
each time risen again, at the same time performing 
the most beautiful miracles. It now rests in a shrine 
studded with rubies, emeralds, and other precious 
stones. It is not the only fake that has found a rich 
resting-place. We were disappointed at not seeing 
all the precious jewels, but we consoled ourselves with 
the thought that when we reached New York we 
could look at jewels to our hearts' content. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 37 

The Library is a place well worth visiting. After 
climbing steep stairs and squeezing through a trap- 
door, we found ourselves in an octagonal room, filled 
with musty old volumes. The history of the Bud- 
dhist religion, which is also the history of Ceylon, 
is here preserved on old strips of papyrus on which 
it was written with a stylus. The outer part of 
each manuscript is protected with cases of the rich- 
est workmanship, some of ivory and solid silver, 
carved in relief. One particularly beautiful one 
was ornamented with gold inlay work on a back- 
ground of silver. Some of these cases, as well as the 
sheets of manuscript, are triumphs of art. 

A large door of the temple opens on to a balcony 
where the Kandian king stood to review the people 
as they passed by on their hands and knees, none 
being allowed to stand in the presence of the king. 
Dreadful stories are told of the cruelty of these 
kings, and, when one sees how contented the people 
are that now dwell here and notes the general ab- 
sence of what we should consider misery, one feels 
that the ninety years of British rule have certainly 
been a blessing. 

Across the street from the temple is a sacred tree — 
the Bo tree — three hundred years old. This is the 
tree under which Buddha sat and meditated, and it is 
held a sin to pluck its leaves. 

The drive to the elephants' quarters was very dis- 
appointing; or I should say, the animals themselves 
were very disappointing. We expected to see beasts 



S8 SPRING DAYS IN 

so fierce that we should take to the trees in terror. 
Instead, we merely climbed into our carriage again 
to escape from the importuning natives. Some of 
them pointed out to us the place where the three 
docile animals stood : another clambered over the back 
of our carriage in a manner that would have excited 
the scorn of a circus acrobat ; another offered us 
a flower that he had just picked in the enclosure. 
We finally broke away and continued our drive. It 
led along a wonderful mountain road, the most beau- 
tiful that we had ever seen. High green hills were 
on one side ; deep green gorges on the other — all a 
wild jungle full of monkeys hopping like squirrels 
from tree to tree. In places the ground was covered 
with the bright flowers of the tulip tree; the great, 
green accordion-pleated leaves of the jungle teak 
and the broad notched leaves of the bread-fruit tree 
mingled with those of the nutmeg and cinnamon. 

At seven in the evening we took the train for 
Colombo. But before this we had a long and some- 
what eventful walk. Having reached the station too 
early for our train, we followed a beautiful high- 
way for more than half a mile, and then turned into 
a path leading, as we supposed, to another street. 
But no other street appeared. We kept on through 
the tangle of undergrowth and the native huts, 
through narrow alleys with no sign of an ending, 
with the red roof of the station in sight all the 
time. Fortunately we met two men in uniform, 
soldiers or policemen, and we asked them whether 



TWO HEMISPHERES S9 

that road led to the station. They replied that it 
did, and one of them immediately turned and led 
the way. It was well that he did, for I am sure 
that we never could have traced the winding path. 
We decided that in the future we should never ex- 
plore byways. 

On the train a man from Bombay occupied the 
same compartment with us and told us many inter- 
esting things about India. We had dinner on the 
dining car, which was far from a Pullman. To get 
it, we had to wait until the train stopped at a 
station and then rush for the car, which was just 
at the rear of the engine. There were two long 
tables in the car, and, as for the linen and china, 
it was perhaps a good thing for our mental comfort 
that we ate by the dim light of a cocoanut oil 
lamp and tallow candles. We paid what would 
amount to seventy-five cents in American money. The 
" lay member " said that such a meal could not be 
had in America. Her loyalty was creditable, and I 
wish I might confirm her statement, but I have seen 
meals not much better in the West. The object 
of switching the car on behind the engine was doubt- 
less to prevent conversation and promote digestion. 
We were obliged to stay in the dining car and endure 
the noise and jolting until the first available stop, 
when we made a hasty retreat. We reached the sta- 
tion in Colombo at eleven o'clock. 

We were thoroughly delighted through the spicy 
island of Ceylon. It has been said that when Adam 



40 SPRING DAYS IN 

was driven out of Eden, he went to Ceylon. I am 
sure Eve suggested it. 

Madras, India, January 7, 190 — . 

From the setting sun, brilliant shafts of light illu- 
minated the sky, as we passed out of Colombo's 
harbor ; and night gradually fell between us and that 
gem of the Indian Ocean, Ceylon. 

The voyage to Tuticorin is often rough; in fact, 
this coast is considered about the stormiest in the 
Eastern Hemisphere; but during our passage, Nep- 
tune was neither in an angry or a frolicsome humor, 
as he is in May or June. 

We had now left behind the Buddhist with face 
of eternal calm, and were about to enter the land of 
the Hindu and the Mohammedan. This country is 
not entirely given up to these two religions, however, 
as one may see in Tuticorin, which is over half 
Catholic. It seemed strange there to see sombre nuns 
in white robes, walking side by side with their sisters 
in brilliant costumes, covered with many silver and 
brass ornaments. 

In the station-yard at Tuticorin, rows of pearl- 
divers from Bombay were awaiting medical inspec- 
tion. A motley crowd of Moors, Tamils, and Arabs, 
they sat motionless under the full rays of the blazing 
sun. They were about to start for a fishing camp on 
the northwest coast of Ceylon. We had recently 
read of these deep-sea divers, and we eyed them 
curiously. Two divers, each attended by a manduk, 



TWO HEMISPHERES 41 

worked together, using the same set of gear. After 
one has descended a half-dozen times or more into 
the water, he is relieved by the other. The weakest 
divers are said to be the Malays; they never go 
deeper than seven fathoms into the water. The 
Moors and Tamils, who are stronger, work in nine 
fathoms, and the Arabs, the strongest of all, in fif- 
teen or even twenty fathoms. Between fifty and 
eighty oysters are collected at a single dive. 

From the car-windows, as we travelled north, we 
saw fields of cotton, rice, tobacco, and millet. Miles 
of century plants and palm-trees skirted the railroad 
track. The villages of grass-roofed mud huts re- 
minded us of Mexico — Mexico intensified a hundred- 
fold, and more tropical and picturesque. 

We chose the unusual method of entering India 
from the south, instead of by way of Calcutta and 
Bombay, the two customary points of entrance and 
departure; and we gleefully made preparations for 
stopping over at Madura and Madras. 

In Madura we were rewarded, for there we saw 
one of the oldest temples in India. It is dedicated 
to the god Shiva, and was built in the third century 
B.C. The more modern part of the building was 
erected by Rajah Tirumala Nayak about 1620. In 
the entrance are throngs of vendors of brass and 
pottery, with their wares spread out on the stone 
floor. Without our Hindu guide, we should have 
been lost among the endless colonnades of gods, thou- 
sands of them. A great many were vengeful ; a few 



42 SPRING DAYS IN 

benevolent. One of them, a bronze bull, was almost 
completely blackened from the smoke of incense 
burned before it. The bathing ghat of the wor- 
shippers, an enclosed tank, is called the " bath of the 
golden lilies." The water is green and slimy; but 
all who wish their sins forgiven must bathe in its 
sacred depths. We watched, pitying, for a time 
a widow who was at her morning devotions. 

Upon the wall of the inner court, which surrounds 
the bath of the golden lilies, are paintings repre- 
senting scenes of battle, and miracles supposed to 
have been wrought by Shiva. The seven towers of 
this butkadah are decorated with figures of men, 
beasts, and reptiles, illustrating their subjection to 
Shiva. Six sacred elephants are kept within the 
temple and used only when Shiva and his goddess 
Minakshi ride out for an afternoon's airing. In the 
festival seasons, garlands of flowers are placed about 
the necks of the images. During the good-luck 
month of Uttoroyana, the natives too wear garlands 
and rejoice. 

After visiting this temple rich in Hindu supersti- 
tion, we drove to the palace of Tirumala Nayak, a 
magnificent structure. It was arranged somewhat 
after the Spanish style of architecture, with an in- 
side colonnade of solid black granite pillars, sur- 
rounding a patio. The great hall of the temple took 
over twenty years to build. The paintings in conven- 
tional design on the ceiling of the dome are most 
interesting, and we wished that we could have got 




THE BUDDHIST TOPE AT SARNATH, NEAR BENARES 



TWO HEMISPHERES 43 

nearer to them for a close inspection. The palace 
is now used by government officials for offices. 

The streets of Madura swarm with human beings, 
like a honeycomb with bees. Our guide, to clear a 
passageway for our gherry, shouted aloud and, 
springing down, flourished a cane of generous pro- 
portions. Finally we alighted to look at the shops. 
They are tiny and tumble-down. Before each door- 
way a space had been swept clean. Here the natives 
had made white chalk drawings in the red sand. 
This, with the scattering of flowers and the sprin- 
kling of holy water, constitute an interesting reli- 
gious rite that we saw observed all over India, but 
of which we never learned the exact significance. 

Not a tourist was on the streets, and not a Euro- 
pean face did we see, save two — those of the station- 
master and the proprietress of the rooms where we 
were to sleep. 

Our rooms were in the upper story of the station- 
house. Little sleep or rest, however, did we have 
that night, for an awful din, coming from across 
the street (whether it was a wedding festival or a 
riot, we knew not), kept us awake imtil the early 
morning hours. Though not as refreshed as usual 
the next morning, we were cheerfully ready, never- 
theless, for the train and Madras. 

Progressive, commercial Madras — its wide, shady, 
clean-swept streets are a contrast to the intensified 
Orientalism of Madura. In the cool of the even- 
ing, we went to the market, and thence for a visit to 



44. SPRING DAYS IN 

the American missionaries. A large compound sur- 
rounds their school, hospital, and residences. We 
were received by the Superintendent and his wife 
and looked over the school buildings, much to the 
confusion of a small Hindu maid, whom we dis- 
covered at her piano practice. The missionaries, 
in Madras and elsewhere, are very kind to travellers. 

Calcutta, January 12, 190 — . 

Calcutta was in gala attire on the morning of 
January 9th, for the tour of the Prince of Wales 
through India was the occasion of much festivity. 
The chawringhee was decorated with garlands of 
paper flowers ; the archways were gay with bunt- 
ing; and at night everything was brilHantly illu- 
minated. Everywhere was present the lavish display 
that Orientals love so well. 

In the beautiful grounds of the Viceroy's Palace 
flags were flying. Footmen in scarlet livery hurried 
hither and thither, for the Prince was to leave by 
an early train for Madras. 

After chota hazeri ("little breakfast") we be- 
gan the round of the temples. In this land of over 
thirty million gods, the confusing subject of religion 
is ever present. With Murray in hand and three 
histories, and a more or less intelligent guide, we 
started out with the intention of covering the whole 
subject ; but we returned dazed and crestfallen. The 
practical American mind loses itself amid the myriad 
religions of the mystical East. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 45 

Though the Mohammedan and Hindu religions are 
as far apart as the poles, the people resemble each 
other so closely in complexion and costume that the 
only way in which I could distinguish them was by 
the fact that the Mohammedan shaves his head but 
not his face, while the Hindu shaves his face but not 
his head. Buddhism, which was first preached at 
Benares, is said to have been gradually absorbed into 
the ancient Brahmanism from which it sprang. The 
sullen, dogged Hindu face has not the repose of the 
Buddhist's. 

The average uneducated Hindu woman has no 
wealth in land or money, but she is passionately fond 
of jewelry. " With rings on her fingers and bells on 
her toes, she delights to have music wherever she 
goes." Her feet are small, and her toes are covered 
with rings. Heavy silver anklets are permanently 
welded around her slender ankles. The lobes of her 
ears are mere strings, made shapeless by the weight 
of heavy trinkets. Her short life is not a happy 
one, for a little girl is an unwelcome arrival in the 
Hindu home. From the time the anxious parent col- 
lects a dowry and marries the poor little maid off 
to a man twice or thrice her age, she becomes the 
slave of her mother-in-law ; and, if the husband dies, 
the little wife is held responsible for his death. The 
old custom of burning the widow with the deceased 
was short and acute torture ; now her agony is spread 
over years of misery, want, and suffering. The 
Hindu woman has no freedom until she in turn be- 



46 SPRING DAYS IN 

comes a mother-in-law, and bestows her revenge upon 
some other little unfortunate. Many high-caste 
Hindus feel the necessity of a reformation in Hindu 
life, and are doing all in their power to lighten the 
burdens of this caste-ridden country. 

One of the long-to-be-remembered experiences of 
our Indian trip was our call at Lily Cottage, the 
home of the late Keshab Chunder Sen. This re- 
former did not embrace Christianity altogether, but 
rejected the worship of numerous and bloodthirsty 
gods, which is the foundation of the old Hindu 
worship. Sen organized a society called the Indian 
Reform Association, for the protection of widows, the 
prevention of child marriage, and the promotion of 
education for both boys and girls. The youngest 
daughter of Sen, and her husband, Mr. Manadobie, 
both of whom reside at Lily Cottage certain months 
of each year, greeted us most cordially in purest 
English. Mr. Manadobie is a professor in Calcutta 
University, and a graduate of Edinburgh. Madam 
served us perfect tea in a charming manner, upon 
an upper veranda overlooking an old-world garden. 
Through the trees in the compound we caught the 
glimmer of a tiny lake. A chapel adjoined the dwell- 
ing, and what caught my eye first, were these Eng- 
lish words, framed and hanging in a clear light, 
" God is Love." 

The tomb of Sen, and his bedroom, which is kept 
as In his lifetime, on this day were decorated with 
garlands of white and yellow flowers, for it was the 



TWO HEMISPHERES 47 

anniversary of his death, twenty-two years ago. The 
reverence of this beautiful Hindu woman for her 
parent's memory was touching, for she quietly slipped 
off her sandals before entering the bed-chamber of 
the Bramo Samoj . 

The dress of a high-caste woman is very graceful. 
On this afternoon Madam wore a white silk robe 
bordered in red and gold. Upon her forehead was a 
single red dot. 

One of Sen's daughters married Sir Nepundra 
Narayan Bhuf Bahadur, Maharajah of Cutch- 
Behar, one of the most enlightened of India's greater 
princes. 

Calcutta is named for the goddess Kali, the author 
of famine and pestilence, to appease whose wrath, in 
the old days, human sacrifice was offered. But Eng- 
lish rule has prohibited this inhuman practice, and 
the dread goddess must now be content with sacrifice 
of sheep, goats, and clay figures. The Kali Temple 
is built on an island in the centre of an artificial 
lake, and is inaccessible. Shaded by giant palms 
and other tropical growth, it is a beautiful sight 
from the shore. 

A drive to Fort William and on the Maiden at 
the fashionable hour of six completed our sightseeing 
in Calcutta — " The Heart of English Power in 
Asia." We viewed the beautiful turnouts that flashed 
by ; saw the granite rock which marks " The Black 
Hole of Calcutta," and read the names inscribed 
thereon of those who perished on that night of terror. 



48 SPRING DAYS IN 

Benares, India, January 20, 190 — . 

On the way to Benares we had a glimpse of the 
virgin forest. In the tops of the scattered trees, 
monkeys played tag, entering into the game with 
obvious spirit. Brilliant paroquets, unafraid, viewed 
our flight through their native haunts. It needed but 
a tawny, striped form to complete the picture — ^but, 
alas ! one cannot hunt a man-eater from the safe dis- 
tance of a car window. 

In the district usually cultivated, the ground was 
parched and dry as powder. We expected to have 
our hearts wrung by the sight of famine-stricken 
natives before we reached our destination in Bombay. 

Those who complain of the discomforts of Pullman 
palace cars had better not plan to tour India. In 
the first-class carriages are four leather benches, two 
uppers and two lowers, each six by three feet and 
running lengthwise with the compartment. The 
uppers are hooked up during the day. Imagine sit- 
ting on the edge of these lowers for eight hours, 
without support for the back. With the bedding 
rolled up in hold-alls upon the floor, we felt like 
a party of poor immigrants. The third-class car- 
riages remind one of the little sightseeing cars used 
in the Rockies for day-excursions. This similarity 
extends to the number of passengers, for the car- 
riages are always filled to overflowing. 

By many it is considered necessary to have a 
*' bearer," who serves in the capacity of guide 
throughout the tour. A resident can procure a 



TWO HEMISPHERES 49 

retinue of servants for anywhere from three to five 
dollars apiece by the month ; but the cook will not 
wash dishes, nor will the coachman feed the horses 
he drives. " Though a Hindu starve, he may not 
eat food prepared by a lower caste than himself; 
though he perish of thirst, he may not drink of a 
cup touched by an inferior hand or lip. To pre- 
serve inviolate the lines of his caste is the chief con- 
cern of his life." 

Benares, " The Splendid," is one of the world's 
oldest cities, and the most fascinating in India. A 
medley of pink, blue, orange, and scarlet-clad figures 
fills the streets. The priceless fabrics of cashmere 
and silk worn by the rich are in pitiful contrast to 
the rags and dirt of the poor. The river front of 
the city, which Aunt N. likened to a ten-ring circus, 
is a marvellous spectacle of animation and color. The 
beautiful temples, mosques, and palaces, however, are, 
many of them, in a state of dilapidation, and are 
slipping gradually into the Ganges. 

Very early on the morning of the Hindu new year 
(January 15th), thousands of people throng the 
steps leading down to the bathing ghats. One and 
all, rich and poor, young and old, of high and low 
caste, meet together at this Holy of HoKes, and, as 
the sun peeps through the mist of early morning, turn 
facing the light and send voiceless prayers to the 
Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer. Ashes fall and 
rise upon the worshippers unnoticed. The dead are 
brought to the river, covered with a sheet and lashed 



50 SPRING DAYS IN 

to two poles. They are then dipped into the water 
and burned — the rich with sandal-wood, the poor 
often without sufficient wood of any kind — and tossed 
out into the river. 

Upon the ghats sit the Brahmin priests under 
wide-spreading umbrellas. These priests are all- 
powerful, for they are supposed to be " especially 
created from the head of the Creator." In front of 
them are little pots of holy water and red and white 
paste. They await the bathers who, after their ablu- 
tions, desire the god-mark placed upon their fore- 
heads. 

Benares is distinctly a city of Shiva, the De- 
stroyer. Pilgrims from throughout the Empire, 
some of them too decrepit to walk, come to live as 
long as they may or to die in the holy city. The 
devout pilgrim must pray in every temple in the 
city, and there are many temples. Chief among them 
is the Golden Temple, so-called from its roof, which 
is covered with gold-leaf. The pilgrim must have 
drink at the well of healing which was supposed to 
have been dug by Vishnu, who sweated so at his 
task that he filled it full of water; and also at the 
well of knowledge, which is covered with green scum. 
And last, after a bath in the Ganges, if he survives, 
he makes a circuit of the city three times and returns 
home with a vessel of sacred water to give to the 
unfortunate who did not make the pilgrimage. 
Every native of means has a dwelling in Benares, 
even though his interests in life necessitate his hving 




THE DUliGA OXl MONKEY TEMfLE, BENAUES 



TWO HEMISPHERES 51 

in another part of India ; and he returns as a pilgrim 
once a year to the holy city. 

The most sacred animal is the cow — and the fattest 
thing in India. It is a common sight to see a dev- 
otee cross himself before a cow and throw a garland 
of flowers around its neck. Next to the cow in sanc- 
tity is the serpent. Nightly one retires quaking, lest 
a cobra be his bedfellow; for not a servant could 
be induced to harm it. The monkey comes third; 
the roofs of the houses are his playground. Even 
temples are named for the monkeys. There is a tem- 
ple in Benares that is turned over entirely to monkeys 
and beggars, and is filthy beyond all expression. 

Many are the myths associated with the oldest city 
of India. The Hindu says : " Benares was once of 
purest gold, but through the wrath of Shiva, caused 
by the sins of the people, the houses have been turned 
into huts of grass and mud." The Hindu must be 
very careful to die within the city walls, for if by 
chance he ends his existence on the opposite bank of 
the river, his future state would be in the form of a 
donkey. " Even a foreigner is deemed worthy of a 
future home with the gods if he dies within ten miles 
of Benares." 

The Rajah of Benares, a very wealthy prince, 
keeps a boat upon the River Ganges at the disposal 
of tourists. After a morning floating up and down 
the river on the prince's boat, we went to see his typi- 
cal Indian residence. At the portals of the village 
of Dg,mangar, which is the beginning of the Rajah's 



52 SPRING DAYS IN 

property, we were met by elephants decked out in 
golden trappings, with bells hung around their necks. 
In fear and trembling we seated ourselves upon the 
velvet cushions, and tried to look as if it were a 
common occurrence in our lives to visit rajahs' pal- 
aces, be met by elephants, and followed by crowds 
of Indians. Arriving at the mansion, we alighted 
with more haste than grace. Our attention was at- 
tracted by the motto of the house of Benares, writ- 
ten over the front door in Sanscrit. It is translated 
as, " No virtue like truth." 

On the walls of the spacious reception halls are 
paintings of the noblest princes of India. Many 
were wearing a king's ransom in ropes of pearls, 
or crescents and stars of diamonds fastened in their 
turbans. In one picture the Rajah of Benares is 
seated between Lord and Lady Curzon; in an older 
one he is with the Czar of Russia. 

The Palace was undergoing repairs, for the Prince 
of Wales was to be entertained at this residence. 
Handsome rugs form the gi^eater part of the fur- 
nishings of an Oriental palace. This one and all that 
we have visited are as cold as ice — enough to cripple 
the inmates for life with rheumatism. 

One cannot help feeling sorry for the poor Rani, 
wife of the Rajah, who cannot enjoy the state func- 
tions planned for the Prince and the Princess. She 
can never ride one of the six hundred horses in the 
Rajah's stable, and must live in strict seclusion, a 
victim of Indian custom. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 53 

Annie Besant's School of Theosophy, in Benares, 
looked from the exterior about like the average 
American college. We were conducted about this insti- 
tution by a young professor, who has charge of the 
students during their recreation. It seems very funny 
to think of Hindus playing cricket and football. 

Just in front of the main building, workmen were 
busy erecting a shrine. I asked the professor, " To 
whom will it be dedicated? " 

" The goddess Minakshi," he replied. 

The home of Annie Besant is just across the street 
from the school — a two-story building in a neg- 
lected garden. We might have learned something of 
theosophy that afternoon had we gone alone, but 
unfortunately a missionary had been invited to ac- 
company us, and she tried so assiduously in the 
short time we were there to convert this one man 
that we came away none the wiser for our visit. 

In the early morning, when the dew is glittering 
upon the grass, and the air is fragrant with scarlet 
and yellow creepers, the Residency at Lucknow is a 
scene of perfect beauty. At such a time, even with 
one's English history at hand, opened at the chapter 
of the Indian Mutiny, it seems difficult to realize 
that under the trailing vines on the crumbling walls 
are the marks made by shot and cannon. Tablets, 
however, are placed all about, commemorating the 
heroes who fought and died there. In the cemetery 
nearby sleep two thousand of those who perished in 



54 SPRING DAYS IN 

that terrible uprising. Many of them were women 
and children. 

Lucknow is the Boston of India, the home of the 
Mohammedan aristocracy. One district of the city 
is composed entirely of palatial residences given by 
the government to princes who remained loyal dur- 
ing the Mutiny. 

Adjacent to Lucknow's great mosque is a great 
hall without columns, erected during one of India's 
terrible famines to give employment to the poor. 
It is built of stone, bare of all ornamentation, and 
is used only to celebrate special Moslem feasts. 

Instead of temples, we now visited the magnificent 
forts of historic India. In these strongholds Mo- 
hammedan emperors built their palaces, the choice 
of a capital depending on the will of the ruler. So 
in Delhi, as in Agra, colossal fortifications enclose 
marble and sandstone palaces, evidences of the un- 
told wealth of the Moguls. 

From the reign of Akbar the Great until the end 
of the reign of his grandson, Shah Jehan, the royal 
splendor of the East was at its height. Akbar ruled 
wisely; and with Shah Jehan erected majestic pal- 
aces, which to-day are dismantled and pillaged, the 
setting only remaining to show the brilliance of the 
past. The Pearl Mosque — the private sanctuary of 
the Imperial family — and the public and private 
Halls of Audience are built of purest white marble. 
The other parts of the palaces and the forts are of 
red sandstone. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 55 

The tombs of Akbar ; of Itimad-ud-Daula, father- 
in-law to Shah Jehan; and of others prominent in 
the state, are also of pohshed marble panelled in deli- 
cate lace-like designs. One of the most valuable dia- 
monds in the world for over a century, imbedded in a 
column in the Tomb of Akbar, is now the centre j ewel 
of the British Crown. Akbar is said to he buried 
in a solid gold coffin. 

Far above all other works of architecture, in pal- 
ace or tomb, towers the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum 
of perfect proportions. From the sandstone gate- 
way — ^which is in itself of more than passing interest 
— one sees in the foreground a garden with a hun- 
dred fountains, playing in rainbow tints, and be- 
hind this the minarets and dome of the Taj, shim- 
mering in the sunlight. This is the precious jewel 
of the East, without price. 

Over the marble walls, mosaics of coral, garnet, tur- 
quoise, agate, jasper, and many other semi-precious 
stones run in designs of tuhp, iris, and locust. Right 
under the centre of the dome a lattice-work screen, 
of frosted marble, lets in the only light that falls 
upon the resting-place of Shah Jehan and his lovely 
Empress Mumtezie. Twenty thousand workmen were 
employed twenty-two years in building this monu- 
ment of the unfaihng love of the emperor for 
his empress. The epitaph of this tomb, translated 
from the Persian, reads, " Only the pure in heart can 
enter the Garden of God." 

Some writers tell us the Taj is more fairylike by 



56 SPRING DAYS IN 

night, and more fascinating each time one returns 
to it; but I think of it most often as I saw it the 
first time, from the gateway. 

Our guide in Agra was a Hindu of striking ap- 
pearance, fully impressed with his own importance. 
Wonderful tales he told us of service in the South 
African War, and the winning of a Victoria Cross. 
We did not see this Cross, but he told us these things 
in so persuasive and serious a manner that we found 
ourselves thoroughly believing him. He did not per- 
mit us to forget his English education and Indian 
birth, and every morning, clad in spotless white, 
with a wonderful sky-blue turban upon his head and 
patent-leather pumps on his feet, greeted us with 
a salaam. 

At the rug manufactory of Agra we saw little 
boys scarcely ten years of age, cross-eyed and well- 
nigh sightless, with skilful fingers weaving Oriental 
carpets. Over each group that is at work on one 
rug presides a reader, who in high-pitched voice 
reads aloud the design and color to be used. The 
confusion of voices was even worse than that in a 
class of Mohammedan children we heard at Delhi 
studying the Koran, in an alcove of the Jumna 
Musjid. This mosque also was erected by Shah 
Jehan, and is perhaps the richest in India. It is 
built of red sandstone inlaid with white marble, and 
is crowned with three domes. For a small fee the 
priests within show one a hair from Mohammed's 
moustache, one of his slippers, and his footprint in 



TWO HEMISPHERES 57 

stone. If one can judge by the relative size of the 
footprints of the two as shown in specimens, Buddha 
could have crushed Mohammed's whole body with 
one of his feet. 

The Imperial Palace of Delhi is now occupied by 
a British garrison, excepting the public and special 
Halls of Audience. In the Dewah-e-Khas once stood 
the famous peacock throne. This scene of past 
royal splendor is untenanted save by curious tour- 
ists and Florentine workmen, who were at that time 
carefully mending a bird's foot, replacing a grape 
leaf or petal of some flower in the mosaic of the 
marble wall. 

Over the entrance in Persian characters are these 

words : 

" If there be a Paradise on Earth 
It is This ! It is This ! It is This ! " 

Queen Alexandra's coronation robe was designed 
after the flower pattern predominating in the Hall 
of Justice. The shop on the Chandie Chank, where 
this dress was embroidered, is one of the best in 
India. It is fascinating to watch the men seated 
upon the floors of their shops, embroidering lovely 
gowns in silver and gold thread. The shawls, the 
enamel, and the ivory and wood carving in Delhi are 
most distracting. The bazaars, as a rule, are so tiny 
that everything has literally to be spread upon the 
streets. 

The merchants and vendors bring their waxes 
and camp outside one's very door ; and had we wished 



58 SPRING DAYS IN 

— ^which we didn't — we could not have evaded them. 
The necklaces of Indian workmanship, in seed pearls, 
uncut rubies, topaz, and amethyst, strung on filigree 
gold chains, were irresistible. 

For one who loves the old-time markets and chili 
stands of San Antonio, the market-place of Delhi 
has thriUs of pleasure. Instead of fat senoras dish- 
ing out tortillas, tamales, and Mexican dulcies, how- 
ever, Indian merchants squatted upon the groimd, 
chewing betel nut, and praising their goods to the 
skies in no gentle voice. They had for sale every- 
thing from fruit to " fat-tailed sheep." 

It was our evening delight in Delhi to drive 
around this plaza through the seething mass of 
humankind. One afternoon we saw coming towards 
us a man who towered head and shoulders above the 
crowd. We wondered where such a tall fellow could 
have come from, and excitedly poked the guide in 
the back to make enquiry. He said the man came 
from the Hills — wherever they may be — and spoke 
in so unconcerned a tone that we concluded the hills 
were full of giants. If Barnum, Ringling, or Fore- 
paugh could get hold of such a man, they would 
weep tears of joy. 

Bombay, February 5, 190 — . 

Jeypore is associated in my mind with execrable 

hotels and salmon-pink houses. We arrived, tired 

and dusty, in the late afternoon. As we had not 

telegraphed for rooms, the best that any hotel 



TWO HEMISPHERES 59 

could give us was two apartments, to be occupied 
at once, and two more which would be vacated at 
midnight. The rooms given us immediately were 
in the condition in which the last occupants had left 
them. Twenty-eight sheets were brought us, from 
which to choose the cleanest, or least soiled, all be- 
ing more or less deplorable. But the unsatisfactory 
accommodations did not oppress our minds, as we 
intended continuing toward Bombay upon the 
morrow. 

We made the most of our limited time, for we 
wished to see the old palace at Amber and the town 
residence of the Maharajah of Jeypore, another of 
India's representative princes. This potentate sub- 
scribed three hundred thousand dollars for orna- 
menting the city streets in honor of the Prince of 
Wales. The Rajah is considered an exemplary 
prince; but to democratic American minds, such an 
expenditure for display seems heartless at a time 
when great numbers of subjects were perishing from 
famine and disease. 

The Maharajah's residence was deserted. Even in 
the gardens all life lay torpid in the sultry heat. 
The fountains were dry; the danger of drought is 
one which constantly threatens the city. The croco- 
diles in the Rajah's palace gardens seem to have 
the best of it, wallowing around in a muddy pool, 
eating great chunks of raw beef thrown to them by 
the caretakers. 

We did not dare stick our noses out of the car 



60 SPRING DAYS IN 

windows at Cawnpore, for there the plague was at 
its deadly work. The journey was soon finished, 
and we reached Bombay with sighs of relief. 

Indian hotels are not as a rule first-class ; from the 
average American's standpoint, in fact, they are 
barely second-class. Mark Twain in " Innocents 
Abroad" holds up to ridicule the Great Eastern, 
of Calcutta; but I know that if he went further 
he fared worse — for the hotels of Delhi and Jeypore 
are poor indeed. Agra, Benares, and Lucknow have 
more comfortable ones, built bungalow fashion, but 
the Taj Mahal (Hotel) of Bombay has no supe- 
rior. The rooms are large and airy, and the baths 
luxurious. At the other places I speak of, the water 
was brought to us in ten-gallon kerosene oil cans and 
poured for our use into a large tin tub! 

In Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay the native 
and foreign quarters are apart from one another; 
consequently these cities are more desirable for the 
English and American residents, though perhaps it 
is thus less interesting to the tourist than in Agra, 
Delhi, Benares, and Madura. 

The first person we met after we had got settled 
and rested in that haven of comfort, the Taj Hotel, 
was Jack Ross-Soden, one of the four boys who had 
come to India for their vacation, and were shipmates 
of ours on the Macedonia. The two parties had 
great fun, telling their various experiences In de- 
tail. The Ross-Sodens had been in advance of us, 
taking In about the same places as ourselves ; we 



TWO HEMISPHERES 61 

had frequently come across their names written in 
the hotel registers. 

The diiFerent crazes to which tourists are liable 
found our party ready victims. We had the brass 
fever to a marked degree in Benares ; rugs demanded 
our attention in Agra ; while embroideries and wood- 
carving occupied our spare minutes in Delhi. But 
the disease reached its worse stage, I think, in Bom- 
bay. We searched there for jewelry, and in a city 
of over thirty thousand jewellers, needless to say, we 
were kept busy. Good and bad amethysts, topazes, 
and turquoises were at our disposal. One must close 
his ears to the smooth-tongued dealer, and use all 
the eyes he has, with the assistance of a magnifying- 
glass, to make a choice, and even then one does not 
know what one is buying. 

To divert our minds from these vanities, on the 
last afternoon in India we drove up Queen's Road 
to the Towers of Silence — a trip we had long put 
off. But for the vultures circling overhead we should 
not have associated the grounds with so unpleasant a 
subject as the disposal of the Parsee dead. 

In the centre of the park is a temple to Zoroaster, 
where the sacred fires ever burn ; and rustic benches 
are scattered at intervals along the pathways. There 
are five whitewashed towers in which the bodies are 
exposed and the flesh devoured in a short time. As 
we were leaving, a child's body was brought in, and 
we hurried away, lest by chance we should hear or 
see the birds coming for their prey. 



62 SPRING DAYS IN 

The Parsees are proud of the sanitary arrange- 
ment of the Towers. In the circular compartments 
the inner one is for children, the middle one for 
women, and the outer one for men. They slant 
toward the centre, where the rain washes the bones of 
the dead into a pit which is connected by a drain 
with the ocean. This pit is purified by charcoal. No 
one save the regular attendants, whether Parsee or 
not, is allowed within the Towers, and there is a 
distinct line drawn between these and other followers 
of Zoroaster. 

About seventy-six thousand Parsees, followers of 
Zoroaster, live in Bombay. They are intelligent and 
public-spirited; many of the schools and public 
buildings of Bombay were erected by them. The 
Parsees are of lighter complexion and of much more 
refined features than the Hindus or Mohammedans, 
or even the Buddhists. 

The burning ghats of Bombay are very like an 
ordinary wood-yard. In a clearing we saw five 
bodies in different stages of cremation. To the left 
of the entrance was the wood-pile. Very near the 
burning ghats is the Mohammedan cemetery, after 
one glance at which over the wall, we fled, feeling 
sufficiently subdued for that day, our last in India. 

Cairo, Egypt, February 18, 190 — . 
Six idle, restful days passed in quick succession 
on the voyage from Bombay to Port Said. A num- 
ber of army officers stationed in India were return- 



TWO HEMISPHERES 6S 

ing to England on sick-leave ; also some African ex- 
plorers, who greatly entertained us with tales of 
"big game." Three Cambridge students enlivened 
the days with college songs and choruses. 

An Italian count sat upon my right in the dining- 
saloon, and on deck in a nearby steamer-chair, a 
future Marquis read the days away. The first was 
a " kodak fiend," the second studiously inclined ; 
both were amusing to me, ^ince my knowledge of 
nobility of any sort is limited. I wonder what 
the American girl finds in a mere title.'* For my 
part, I liked best to hear the young Fifth Officer of 
the steamship Egypt tell thrilling tales of his ex- 
periences around the world in a sailing vessel. 

At Cook's in Port Said, we found a package of 
letters for each of the party, and we chatted of 
home news while waiting for the noon train to Cairo. 

It was the height of the fashionable season in 
Cairo. A gay, pleasure-seeking throng filled the 
streets. This city, situated upon the great high- 
way between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, 
is a panorama of lights and shades, dress and style, 
nationahty and language, such as one would never 
dream of. To the Maoski one must first go, to see 
the Bedouin of the desert, the Soudan, and Arab 
and Turk, and wander about in a medley of donkey- 
carts, camels, men dressed in skirts, and women 
veiled so as to show no part of their face but their 
jet-black eyes. 

The picturesque Suk-el-Fahhamir and the Khan- 



64 SPRING DAYS IN 

Khalil are the chief markets for genuine Oriental 
rugs and fezzes. As in India, each bazaar is de- 
voted to the selHng of only one class of goods. 

One can get the most characteristic view of Cairo 
from the Citadel, whence are to be seen white-sailed 
dahabeahs gliding gracefully up and down the Nile, 
tracing the river's course as it bends in and out of 
New Cairo and the ruins of the old city. Acres of 
alfalfa, growing in the irrigated portions of the 
Nile valley, show vividly green against the dull 
color of the sand-dunes. Not far away are the 
pyramids of Ghizeh, and in the distance those of 
Sakara. Beyond, the desert fades into the gray-blue 
haze of the Egyptian atmosphere. It is of little 
wonder that many artists, with books and pencils, 
come to Cairo for rare bits of light and coloring. 

One may devote a day or a year, as one chooses, 
to the Egyptian Museum. The wooden, bronze, and 
stone statues there gladden the heart of the student 
of archaeology, but in one not absorbed in scientific 
research the mummies of the Pharaohs arouse sad 
thoughts. 

The pyramids of Ghizeh may be reached by street- 
car or by a drive along a shady road. At the ter- 
minus of the car line, moth-eaten camels are pro- 
vided for the sole purpose, one imagines, of making 
the tourist ludicrous. The ascent of the Great 
Pyramid is accomplished with the assistance of three 
Arabs, two to pull and one to shove you up. A 
fellow-sufferer suggested that a fourth was needed 




Sweetmeat Seller 
Conjuror 



PPWJI 



TWO HEMISPHERES 65 

to carry something of a stimulating nature. After 
reaching the top, one is at the mercy of the drag-up- 
men, who produce from the pockets of their mys- 
terious skirts scarabs and insist, " You buy ? " One 
longs in vain for peace and quiet, for the three 
Shylocks at hand care nothing for the spell of the 
desert. In disgust one gives up and begins the 
descent. 

Of course we were familiar with the Sphinx from 
many pictures and we had read history after history, 
yet we were surprised not to see the missing nose. 
One is fascinated by this mighty image and over- 
whelmed with a desire to strike it, as Michael 
Angelo did his statue of Moses, and demand speech 
from " the god of the morning." If a miracle should 
bring utterance from those stone lips, what knowl- 
edge would be ours. 

While the dragomen give you a moment's peace, 
photographers fill up the time in entreating you to 
have your photograph taken alongside the Sphinx. 
These photographers should be run out of Egypt. 
Sensible people do not come thousands of miles for 
a grotesque photograph of themselves. 

Like Rome's three hundred and sixty-five churches, 
Cairo has a mosque for every day in the week. 
Probably the old mosque of Araru is more interest- 
ing, since it is the mother church of them all. 

" A prophecy predicts the downfall of Moslem 
power with the downfall or decay of this mosque. 
It is here that the universal service of supplication 



66 SPRING DAYS IN 

is held, when a tardy or insufficient rising of the 
Nile takes place — a service attended by the Khedive 
and principal officers of state. Within the gloomy 
interior, its forest of pillars — spoils from the Tem- 
ple of Memphis and Heliopolis — support rows of 
arches in the colonnades which bound each side of the 
open court." A column, believed to have been mi- 
raculously transported from Mecca to Cairo by 
the Caliph Omar, was pointed out to us by our 
guide. 

Mohammed, our guide, was disgusted with us for 
not crossing over the river to Roda Island, supposed 
to be the spot where Moses was found in the bul- 
rushes. There are no bulrushes now, and the place 
looks uninviting, so we were content to look upon 
the palm trees from afar. 

Mohammed is no use whatever as a guide, but he 
attached himself to us the day we came to Cairo. 
Once when the Aunt, in a fit of impatience at his 
colossal ignorance, said, " If you had any sense, you 
would make a good guide ! " Mohammed in all good 
faith — ^meaning to soothe her ruffled feelings — an- 
swered, " Me love you like my mother-in-law." 

We fear Mohammed found us unenthusiastic 
about many things, for, after two-thirds of around- 
the-world travel, we were beginning to feel not un- 
like water-soaked sponges, suffused with myths, 
legends, and religions. We were saving ourselves, 
in a measure, for the picture galleries of Europe ! 

The bazaars (run by natives in un-native quar- 



TWO HEMISPHERES 67 

ters) have tiny enamel Moseses in baskets ; also mum- 
mies, locust flowers, and endless other trinkets and 
charms to catch the tourist's eye. 

As we drove towards Heliopolis, we saw the orange 
trees fruiting in the Khedive's orchards, and we at 
once became very thirsty. A little further on we 
spied a tea-shop, opportunely placed for the way- 
farer; and here we rested for a space, for it was 
tea-time. 

I read in my guide-book, as we rested : " There is 
only one curiosity at Heliopolis, the famous Obelisk, 
sole relic of the ancient capital. The material is 
of the usual rose-colored granite of Assouan, the 
cradle of nearly all of Egyptian obelisks. It is 
covered with hieroglyphics, almost illegible, because 
of the bees having utiHzed the deep incisions for their 
cells." We proceeded on our way to Heliopolis to 
make sure the Obelisk was there, and on the return 
drive stopped at the Virgin's tree, where Mary is 
said to have sat and rested on the flight into Egypt. 
The present tree is a supposed descendant of the one 
that sheltered her. Close by is the Virgin's well, 
where the Child is said to have been bathed. 

On the Nile, February 25, 190 — . 
Seven days' sailing from Cairo brought us to 
Luxor, the culmination of all our dreams of Egypt. 
What a happy week it was! — filled alternately with 
exciting experiences ashore and hours of blissful 
idleness, as we floated on through strange and won- 



68 SPRING DAYS IN 

derful scenes suggesting a past so far removed that 
it was difficult to realize it had ever existed. 

Everything about us was interesting — the com- 
fortable steamer Victoria, our home for two weeks, 
whose full passenger list furnished many pleasant 
companions; the picturesque Arab crew; the myste- 
rious river itself; the native boats with their tower- 
ing masts ; the life along the shore ; and last, the 
shadoofs of two, three, and sometimes four levels, 
worked by lithe, bronze figures that deftly raised 
and emptied the buckets of precious Nile water 
to make the reclaimed desert " blossom hke the 
rose." 

We watched, as in a moving picture, the pro- 
cession of people and animals, ruins, villages, huts, 
minarets, and domes, silhouetted sharply, in that 
marvellously clear atmosphere against the back- 
ground of sky. 

Our Arab dragoman, Ibrahim, with his gift of 
many tongues, told dramatic stories of many points 
by the way — and, after dinner each night, gave in 
English, French, and German the programme for 
next day — ^his final word always : " Don't forget the 
tickets ! No ticket, no in ! " Important advice 
it was, as tickets, issued by the Government at one 
pound each, were necessary for admission to all 
tombs and temples. In the scramble for donkeys, 
when an excursion was to be made, we saw his portly 
figure in the midst of the fray, trying to bring order 
out of chaos and to curb the aggressive spirit of 



TWO HEMISPHERES 69 

some of the members of our European contingent 
and secure fair treatment for all. 

How constantly the donkey appears in our recol- 
lections of Egypt! — the many episodes of donkey 
and donkey-boy, with his ingenious schemes for in- 
creasing baksheesh, rather annoying at first, but 
by and by only amusing. Even those of us who, 
with increasing years and avoirdupois, had long ago 
abandoned equestrian feats climbed bravely into mis- 
fit saddles, and clung tightly, desperately to pommel 
and bridle as the little beasts scampered off under 
constant urging of the boys in the form of long- 
drawn " A-a-ah ! A-a-ah ! " accompanied by slaps 
and frequent twists of the poor little tails. Re- 
monstrance was vain — each boy wished to head the 
procession, and gave no heed to our piteous appeals 
to go slowly. 

We were soon used to small discomforts, however, 
and a fourteen-mile ride came to have no terror for 
us. At Badracken, a miserable Arab village, we 
began to appreciate the value of veils and fly-flap- 
pers, for sore eyes — so prevalent in Egypt — were 
here to be seen at every turn. The unwashed chil- 
dren apparently made no attempt to drive away 
the hungry insects swarming over their filthy, dis- 
eased faces. 

The thought that we, too, might be victims caused 
us to tuck our veils more tightly under our chins 
and hurry on. We travelled the palm-shaded road, 
winding through piles of rubbish, which is all that 



70 SPRING DAYS IN 

is left of Memphis, for many centuries b.c. the most 
splendid city of the world, famed for its palaces, 
temples, fertile fields, and noble trees, and its wines, 
fruits, and flowers. The spoilers came one after 
another — Nykeans, Ethiopians, Assyrians, Persians, 
and Christians — with fanatic zeal to destroy all 
pagan art; and finally the Mohammedans, who car- 
ried away the stones of the beautiful buildings as 
material for their own houses and mosques across 
the river. 

When the great Rameses II. returned victorious 
from his wars in the East, he set up in front of the 
temple of Ptah a colossal statue of himself, forty- 
two feet high; we saw it lying on its back, broken 
and disfigured and nearly buried by palms and 
tangled shrubbery. 

Nearby is another Colossus in a similar position, 
but surrounded by a stone wall, from which we looked 
down upon the calm face whose features have been 
preserved through ages of exposure to the ravages 
of the elements and man. Surely here was the text 
for a sermon ; but, knowing there were plenty more 
of them awaiting us, we pushed our way on through 
ruins in palm groves, over green fields, and along 
raised dykes, to the edge of the desert tableland, 
to Sakkara, the great burial ground of the ancient 
Egypt of all periods. 

Nearby, in a group with three others, is the Step 
Pyramid; older than the great Cheops at Ghizeh, 
and named from the terraced formation of its sides. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 71 

All the structures here have suffered at the hands 
of vandals searching for treasure supposed to be 
concealed within. A wonderfully interesting place 
is the Serapaeum, the tomb of the Sacred Bulls. 
Long dark underground tunnels lead to the gallery 
containing sixty vaults for the reception of the 
huge sarcophagi of the holy Apis Bulls. Twenty- 
four, of beautifully polished granite, remain in po- 
sition, but when they were opened by Marriette, in 
1850, only two contained any relics. We returned 
to the river through scenes of present-day poverty 
and squalor, wondering what the old glory was 
worth, after all! 

Each day of the journey brought a fresh pleas- 
ure — a new point to be visited. Only at Beni Has-, 
san, near some marvellous rock-hewn tombs, were we 
disappointed. The turbulent villagers, in the ab- 
sence of their Sheik, became riotous over the distribu- 
tion of donkeys, and beat each other and seized and 
broke saddles and bridles (which belonged to the 
steamer). Consequently, the officers decided that it 
was unsafe for passengers to land. After much diffi- 
culty, the injured property was recovered, and we 
sailed away. 

We shall always have happy memories of our day 
at Abydos — the perfect morning; the crisp, clear 
air ; bright sunshine ; and last, but not least, the fine 
little donkey, with comfortable saddle. 

The first part of our way lay over a causeway 
built through lowlands next the river, where we met 



72 SPRING DAYS IN 

a long stream of camels loaded with stone for re- 
pairing the revetments along the slope of the road, 
to prevent its washing when the water should be 
turned into the fields. Other camels came with 
lighter loads of alfalfa, or carrying complete fam- 
ilies, out for pleasure or business ; and now and then 
a baby camel was seen following its mother in the 
procession. 

Then we passed through cultivated fields, planted 
with sugar-cane, wheat, barley, and the inevitable 
bean, evidently as dear to the Egyptian as to the 
Yankee; its sweet blossoms perfumed the whole 
air. 

Seven miles inland, we came to the site of Abydos, 
with its grand ruined temple, known as the Mem- 
nonium, built by Seti I., and dedicated to the God 
Osiris. Seti's son Rameses II., the Great (whose 
mummy we had seen in Cairo), added to it, and with 
the characteristic modesty which he has displayed 
in many other places, inscribed on the walls all he 
had done for his father's memory, and honor, and 
the rank and dignities he held — ^but under the rough 
hieroglyphics of the son could be seen faintly the 
finer ones of Seti. " Envy, hatred, malice, and all 
uncharitableness " are no new inventions ; and we 
' may be sure that grafters and stock-gamblers were 
as busy in those old days as now. 

Here also was the famous Tablet of Abydos, 
which gives in cartouches the names of the seventy- 
six kings of Egypt, from Menes to Seti I. Two 



TWO HEMISPHERES 73 

rows of twenty-four grand columns are still stand- 
ing. Near at hand are the ruins of another temple 
built by Rameses, which stood almost intact until 
the French occupation in the last century, when 
so much damage was wrought that only a portion 
of the walls, a few feet high, remains, and the deli- 
cately cut pictures, here as elsewhere, are cruelly 
hacked. 

We lunched in the shade of columns and walls, 
and then, mounting our gallant steeds, travelled 
homeward to the river by the same pleasant route 
by which we had come in the morning. 

By such steps we journeyed four hundred and 
fifty miles till we came to Luxor. This is the Mecca 
of travellers in Egypt, for close beside it are the 
ruins of the temples of ancient Thebes. 

On our first evening in Luxor, with our boat 
moored just below the shadow of the mighty temple, 
we stood on the high bank at sunset, surrounded by 
a curious, chattering crowd of natives. We heard 
the Muezzin in his tower calling the hour of prayer, 
and felt the hush that followed. Across the river 
lay the long stretch of desert, its indescribable color- 
ing backed by purple and pinkish violet mountains; 
and between them and us, above and around all, a 
flood of glorious yellow light! Just such tints one 
has seen in paintings of Egypt, and wondered if 
they could be true to nature. Here they are in 
reality, brighter, yet softer than an artist's brush 
could show them. 



74 SPRING DAYS IN 

Thebes was built on both sides of the Nile, cover- 
ing the wide plain, with mountains east and west of 
it. After the decay of Memphis, Thebes became the 
chief city of Egypt. Of the splendor of its tem- 
ples, palaces, monuments, and tombs, its " hundred 
gates," its thousands of soldiers and war chariots, 
famous throughout the then known world, to-day 
only ruins, robbed of gold and silver ornaments and 
precious stones, remain. But these, fortunately, 
under English rule are carefully cherished, and 
visitors may see and enjoy them. 

Within the village and close to the river is the 
great temple of " Amen in the South," part of whose 
walls are standing, with rows of huge columns form- 
ing grand colonnades, many statues, whole or 
broken, and one of a pair of obelisks, eighty feet 
high, that stood before the pylon of the temple. 
Its companion is in the Place de la Concorde in 
Paris. 

This temple at Luxor was connected with Kar- 
nak, " the holy ground," where stood the " House 
of Amen in the North," by an avenue more than 
a mile long, which is flanked with rows of 
sphinxes. 

At the end of this avenue a second and smaller one, 
ornamented with ram-headed sphinxes, leads on the 
right hand to a splendid pylon, of as recent date as 
the Ptolemy era. Passing through the arch of the 
pylon one enters another sphinx avenue, which leads 
to the temple built by Rameses III. Four grand 




iCourUsy of DeWitt V. Hatchings) 

A SHOP IN CAIRO 



TWO HEMISPHERES 75 

temples, whose statues, columns, and shrines it 
wearies one to count, are grouped upon this sacred 
spot. 

Beyond the second pylon, guarded by colossal 
statues of Rameses II., we enter the famous " Hall 
of Columns." The twelve columns standing in the 
middle rows are sixty feet high and thirty-five feet 
in circumference, and the others, more than one 
hundred in number, are considerably smaller. 

Further on are two more pylons, then two obe- 
lisks, one standing, the other fallen ; then still an- 
other two pylons and a collection of columns, and 
one obelisk, the tallest in the world, one hundred and 
five feet high, quarried at Assouan by order of the 
great Queen Hetshepset (or Hatesu), the Ehzabeth 
of Egypt. It took seven months to set this in 
position. 

We went through pylons and rooms of colvunns, 
some of whose capitols were exquisitely carved with 
lotus blossoms and other designs. We saw walls 
covered with hieroglyphics telling the fame and 
glory of the builder and the discomfiture of his ene- 
mies ; tablets of cartouches ; broken shrines and 
statues ; and finally came out into the open ground, 
and walked down to a shallow pool of water, the 
Sacred Lake, filled from the Nile and used for 
processions of sacred boats in grand religious 
celebrations. 

From about 3000 B.C. to the invasion by Alex- 
ander the Great, this shrine of Karnak constituted 



76 SPRING DAYS IN 

a " Hall of Fame," in which every king sought to 
place his name. Many causes have conspired to 
destroy these ruins — chiefly, the periodical rising of 
the Nile, the insufficiency of the foundations of the 
walls and columns, and the salts from the mud and 
earth in which they were so long buried. They are 
well taken care of; during our visit, workmen were 
strengthening a falling column. One whole happy 
day we roamed and dreamed in Karnak, and we still 
hope some kind turn of Fortune's wheel may send us 
there again. 

The Anglo-American Nile Steamer Victoria, 
At Luxor, Upper Egypt, February 27, 190 — . 

After several days of weary wanderings among 
the hoary ruins of old Thebes — ^Luxor, Karnak, the 
Haraesseum, Afu-al-Kurna, Der Al Barri, the Tombs 
■of the Kings, the Tombs of the Queens — ^we were 
glad to rest at evening in the comfortable deck- 
chairs of our steamer. 

What an hour for reverie ! To the west stretched 
the long shadowy range of Libyan mountains. Deep 
in the heart of these mountains sleep long dynasties 
of Egypt's kings. Many of them went to their 
rest in the Morning of the World, and have slept 
away the centuries in the darkness and silence of 
their rock-hewn, sculptured, and painted sepulchres 
undisturbed by the pillage and destruction wrought 
by conquering invaders, while their own glory has 
been fading from the memory of the world, and the 



TWO HEMISPHERES 77 

work of their hands, their pillared temples and great 
cities, have been crumbling back to dust. Still they 
sleep on, heedless of the passing centuries and the 
obliteration of the world they knew. Not all, how- 
ever, remain in the beds where they were laid so 
long ago. Many have been ruthlessly stolen away 
ages ago by thieves in search of plunder, and have 
found their way into the museums of the great cities 
of Europe and America. 

We saw the mummies of many in the Cairo Mu- 
seum; among them, those of Seti I. and the great 
Rameses II. Among the " Tombs of the Kings " 
we saw that of Amenophis I. He still sleeps in his 
" storied urn," or rather sarcophagus, of poHshed 
granite, in his beautiful mortuary chamber deep 
down in the mountains, where he was laid to rest 
more than a thousand years before Christ was born 
at Bethlehem ! The lid of his sarcophagus had been 
moved back, and the wrappings had been removed 
from his face and hands. His hands were folded 
on his breast, and his wrinkled and shrivelled face 
was exposed to the light of an electric lamp hung 
from the star-spangled blue ceiling directly over it. 
What a flood of time was lighted up b}"^ the lamp! — 
flashing back from those cold, silent lips, over the 
lapse of three thousand years to the day when the 
last echoes of his living voice died away among the 
pylons, obelisks, statues, and walls of the great city, 
that is now only dusty waste of broken columns and 
mounds of crumbling bricks! 



78 SPRING DAYS IN 

We went to see the temple and tomb of the great 
" Elizabeth of Egypt." Mr. Theodore Davis, the 
American Egyptologist, had the good fortune to 
find these long-sought relics. The mummy of the 
great Queen he has not yet found. It was stolen 
away by ghouls in the middle ages, but Mr. Davis 
feels very confident that he will yet find it. We saw 
his party at work one morning among the ruins in 
the vicinity of her tomb and temple. 

We visited also the ruins of Medinet Abu, and 
several others of great interest in the western part 
of the plain near the base of the mountain. A little 
nearer, and lighted up by the level rays of the set- 
ting sun, stood the two most famous Colossi of old 
Thebes. The northern one, now only mutilated re- 
mains, is the once vocal statue of Memnon, erected 
by Amenophis III. The upper part of this statue 
is said to have been thrown down by an earthquake 
in the year 27 B.C., and to have been repaired by 
Septimius Severus " by adding five new layers of 
stone." 

It is said that the statue was first overthrown by 
the Persian Cambyses (during his invasion of 
Egypt, about 500 b.c), " who left nothing unburnt 
in Thebes that fire would consume." I have seen 
somewhere the statement that Alexander the Great 
set it up on its original base about 330 B.C. 

Strabo visited Thebes about 24 b.c, and went to 
ascertain the truth of the story that musical notes 
were emitted from the statue at dawn. He says, 



TWO HEMISPHERES 79 

" I heard a noise at the first hour of day, but 
whether proceeding from the base or from the 
Colossus, or produced on purpose by some of those 
standing around the base, I cannot confidently 
assert." 

But I cannot record on paper all my impressions 
of these marvellous ruins ! I must rely upon my 
guide-books, and my own memory, from which I am 
sure these pictures will not soon be effaced! 

In the morning we entered upon the last stage 
of our Nile journey, the southern limit of which 
is Assouan — the First Cataract and the Great Dam. 

After a refreshing sleep we rose at early dawn — 
in time to see the rising sun chase the shadows out 
of the grand old ruins of Luxor. It was with re- 
gret that we saw the weird vision fade out behind 
us, and become replaced by more familiar objects 
along the shores ; the sand-bars, cultivated as soon 
as they are above water-high banks, picturesque, 
with the squalid huts of the fellahin among palm 
groves and acacias; all curiously mixed up with 
deeper impressions of scenes we had just left. 

At half-past two in the afternoon we reached 
Edfou, landed, and had a most vexatious experience 
securing donkeys to carry us to the temple, about 
two miles back from the river. There were plenty 
of donkeys, but all of their drivers were equally 
determined to get a saddle from the steamer and a 
passenger. There was a furious scramble, as at 



80 SPRING DAYS IN 

Beni Hassan; many saddles were broken, and some 
Arab heads, which deserved to be broken, escaped. 
Some of our ladies were sickened by the tumult, 
and turned back. Josephine and I finally got 
mounted — she on a very unsatisfactory animal, and 
I with a saddle having stirrups too narrow to re- 
ceive my feet, compelling me to ride without their 
help. 

The temple of Edfou is a fine piece of Ptolemaic 
work, and in a fairly good state of preservation ex- 
cept where the Copts (or early Christians) have " got 
in their work " of desecration upon the mural carv- 
ings. They tried to chisel out everything relating 
to pagan worship and idolatry- — a task which they 
have accomplished more or less completely in many 
other ruins. The pylon of this temple, one hun- 
dred and fifty feet high, is a most imposing struc- 
ture. The Egyptian Government has undertaken 
a thorough repair of the remains — ^but not a thor- 
ough restoration. 

We returned to the steamer at about four in the 
afternoon, and had a refreshing cup of tea as the 
ship was getting " under way " to proceed up the 
river. The river was low, and the boat was fre- 
quently delayed by grounding on the sand-bars. 
The air was still and the slanting rays of the de- 
clining sun lit up the rim of the Libyan Desert 
and the gray, barren mountains to the East with a 
soft golden radiance that made the scene from my 
cabin window most enchanting. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 81 

March 1, 190—. 

At half -past six in the morning, after breakfast, 
we steamed up the river, and landed upon a high 
rocky bluff on the eastern bank, upon which stand 
the ruins of the Temple of Kom Ombo — ^built by 
Ptolemy the "Stout" (or "big stomach"). Ac- 
cording to another account it was in existence 
" before the time of the Kings of the eighteenth 
dynasty," was rebuilt by Amenoptes I., and was 
repaired and renovated by Ptolemy Pscychon, or as 
he was sometimes called, Ptolemy Kakergetes (the 
Evildoer) in contradistinction to Euergetes (the 
Welldoer). 

In the guide-books is a good description of this 
temple. It is in the best state of preservation of 
any I have seen in Egypt. The pylon has dis- 
appeared, however, except a small piece at the 
southwest corner of the foundation in the middle. 
This temple stands so near the river that we could 
reach it without fatigue, and, what is more gratify- 
ing, without donkeys and donkey-men. The wind 
was strong and rather chilly (the thermometer a 
little below sixty degrees) and was filled with sand 
from the desert. 

Assouan stands on the east bank of the river, 
nearly opposite Elephantine Island, a little below 
the first cataract. On account of the wind we made 
no attempt to land at the city; the steamer was 
tied up at the north end of Elephantine Island. This 
island was an ancient stronghold; it marked the 



82 SPRING DAYS IN 

southern limit of ancient Egypt, and later of the 
Roman Empire. A strong Roman garrison was 
kept there. 

The town of Assouan was once of considerable 
importance, and must have contained many inhab- 
itants. One Arabic writer is quoted as saying that 
in ancient times " twenty thousand " of its inhab- 
itants perished by the plague. 

Ptolemy the Astronomer and Eratosthenes the 
Alexandrian mathematician located the Tropic of 
Cancer at this place — claiming that at the summer 
solstice the sun " illuminated a deep well entirely 
to the bottom." They were not very far wrong — 
the true latitude of Assouan is 24° 7' 23 " ; their error 
was of about 37'. 

After luncheon we went in boats up the river 
among piles of huge granite boulders to an island 
with high rocky shores — in some places faced with 
walls of cut stone, apparently very old. We disem- 
barked at the " Nilometer," of which we have ac- 
counts by Strabo and Diodorus. By the side of the 
Nilometer is a flight of stone steps ; nearby we saw 
a saqquick operated by a yoke of oxen. This had 
the appearance of great age, and suggested the 
many generations of oxen that have passed their 
existence treading this " eternal circle," hearing the 
ceaseless groaning and complaining of the wheels 
and the splash of the water they dare not stop 
to sip. 

The " Nilometer " is a well behind the wall at 



TWO HEMISPHERES 83 

the steps, in which the water rises and falls with 
the fluctuations of the river. The stages of the 
water are indicated by graduations cut in marble 
slabs let into the wall. Elephantine Island is from 
fifty to one hundred feet high, and covered, to an 
unknown depth, with ruins. At one point appeared 
some remains of an ancient temple of granite, said 
to have been built by the Copts. 

I saw a broken Colossus projecting near a modem 
wall of sun-dried bricks, and was told by our drago- 
man that it was a statue of the Pharaoh who pursued 
the IsraeKtes into the Red Sea. This land of marvels 
and wonders puts one into a credulous humor, and 
I chose to believe his story. 

After wandering for an hour or two among these 
dust-heaps of antiquity, we returned to our boats 
and crossed over to the town of Assouan for a stroll 
among the shops and bazaars. We saw an abun- 
dance of cheap trumpery meant to attract gullible 
tourists — and / bought some of it. 

March 2, 190—. 

On the next day, crossing the river in boats to 
Assouan on the east side, we took a train which 
carried us about seven miles around a rocky gorge, 
through which the river flows in a succession of falls, 
cascades, and rapids, known as the " First Cata- 
ract " of the Nile. 

The road from Assouan has a northward trend at 
first — then gradually curves southward, past the an- 



84 SPRING DAYS IN 

clent Assouan granite quarries — ^until it reaches the 
river again above the dam. There the river is much 
wider and deeper, expanding into a veritable lake. 
Palm trees, half -submerged, appear standing far 
from the shores. Directly in front of us is the island 
of Philae, and the half -submerged ruin of the beauti- 
ful Temple of Isis. Entering boats, we were rowed 
out (a distance of seven hundred yards) to the 
island in company with a large party of German 
and French tourists, whose personal relations seemed 
very much like those of the proverbial " oil and 
water " ; but which was oil, and which water, was 
not so apparent. The island is entirely submerged, 
as well as most of the ruins. Besides a dozen or 
more temples, there were in ancient times many 
houses and shops arranged along streets and alleys, 
forming a dense village or town covering the entire 
island, which measures one thousand four hundred 
and eighteen feet in length and four hundred and 
sixty-four feet in width. Of these buildings there 
remain above water only the upper part of the ruins 
of the temple of Isis, located near the centre of the 
island, upon a solid rock foundation ; the upper part 
of the "kiosk" (sometimes called "Pharaoh's 
Bed ") ; and a few broken columns here and there. 
Strabo says, " Philas is a common settlement of 
Ethiopians and Egyptians . . . where a bird, which 
they call a heirax (the hawk) is worshipped." We 
rode around the beautiful kiosk, admiring it from 
every side, and turned away feeling much as though 



TWO HEMISPHERES 85 

we were abandoning a friend chained to a rock and 
up to his neck in rising water ! 

We passed in and out among the columns and 
walls still standing, and over many more which had 
fallen long before the irrigation scheme became 
a fait accompli by the building of the dam. Al- 
though this impounding of the water of the Nile is 
unquestionably a wise and beneficent work, it was 
not without a feeling of keen regret that I realized 
what it meant — ultimate destruction and oblitera- 
tion of these beautiful relics of a long past age! 

We rowed around the temple to a place where 
there was an opening through a wall, which was only 
a few inches under water. By the use of landing- 
planks, we managed to get inside " dry-shod " and 
to reach the upper steps of a stone stairway, by 
which we cHmbed to the top of the ruin. From this 
position we had a fine view of the reservoir, with 
its island-like clusters of granite boulders and palm- 
tree tops. To the eastward lay the rockbound 
shore, and behind it the famous Assouan granite 
quarries. To the west the desert stretched away 
to the Libyan Mountains. To the north lay the 
long line of the great dam, a mere streak along the 
horizon. 

After gazing until we were tired, and our ears 
were full of the din of vociferating Arab boatmen, 
we reembarked and proceeded to the west end of 
the dam. There we partook of a most welcome 
luncheon sent up by the steamboat company from 



86 SPRING DAYS IN 

Assouan, and served in one of the buildings occu- 
pied by the officials in charge of the dam and locks. 
I then went out on the dam nearly to the middle, 
where some of the gates were open, and saw the 
water pouring through in a dozen or more foaming, 
thundering torrents. The sound is like that of 
Niagara. The volume and force of the rushing 
water may be appreciated when it is known that the 
sluices are five or six feet wide by ten feet high 
and under a pressure of thirty or forty feet of 
water. The dam crosses the river in a straight line, 
being built over what in summer are five separate 
channels. The total length of the dam is a little 
more than a mile ; the width of the waterway in flood- 
time, four thousand five hundred and ninety feet. 
The height of the dam (one hundred feet in places) 
is such as to hold up a maximum head of sixty-six 
feet of water. Its thickness on top is about twenty 
feet. The up-stream face of the dam is vertical, 
and the down-stream face is curved outward, mak- 
ing it much thicker toward the bottom, where it is 
from fifty or sixty to ninety feet thick, according 
to its depth at different places. 

There are one hundred and eight sluice-ways, ar- 
ranged in sections at different levels. These are 
for the purpose of regulating the flow of water at 
different seasons. There is a stone parapet on each 
side of the upper surface with iron rails on which 
is mounted a locomotive steam apparatus for hoist- 
ing and lowering the gates. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 87 

At the end of the dam are four huge locks com- 
municating with a deep canal nearly two miles long. 
These locks are built of massive blocks of granite, 
all beautifully cut and fitted together. It is all 
most impressive, and the quality of workmanship and 
material promises stabiUty. 

This splendid structure has made a lasting im- 
pression on me. It is worth a journey from America 
to see! We took leave of beautiful Philae and the 
dam, took boats below the locks, and proceeded 
down the canal towards Assouan. 

About a mile below the dam is another lock — 
also of cut granite — long, deep, and wide. While 
waiting in the deep locks for the water to fall 
suifificiently to permit the opening of the lower gates, 
some of the boat's crew gave us selections of Arab 
vocal music with " tom-tom " accompaniment. The 
weird sound, reverberating from the walls and gates 
of the lock, produced upon our ears anything but a 
pleasant effect. In the open canal the music was 
rather amusing. 

On emerging from the lock we had a good view of 
the largest of the several cascades which compose 
the first cataract of the Nile. On the crest of the 
cascade, wedged in among the rocks, we saw the 
wreck of a large sail-boat ; the crew had either been 
carried over the falls and drowned, or perhaps had 
** shot " the falls in smaller boats. " Shooting the 
cataract " seems to have been a very old amusement. 
Strabo says, " The boatmen exhibit a sort of specta- 



88 SPRING DAYS IN 

cle to the Governors," sailing up by the rapid chan- 
nels near the shore, and " dropping down through 
the middle one where the cataract is, and going over 
in their boats, escaping unhurt." On approaching 
Assouan again, we had another view of the old 
Nilometer and the creaking ox-driven saqquick, and 
I realized with regret that we had begun to retrace 
our steps. 

On the next day at noon our steamer turned its 
prow northward for Cairo. We stopped occasion- 
ally on the way back at the points of interest we 
had not visited on the upward journey. 

Milan, Italy, March 28, 190 — . 

Four days we tossed and tumbled, to and fro, 
churning the turquoise blue of the Mediterranean 
into a muddy discontent. We groaned in spirit, and 
we groaned aloud, filling in the saner moments with 
wondering how the half of the party were faring 
who elected to cross by a small Brindisi boat. In 
books, the Mediterranean is ever calm, placid, de- 
lectable. " Why could it not be so on this, our 
maiden voyage ? " we all complained. 

My stateroom companion was a jolly English girl, 
who was returning from a visit to army friends in 
Cairo. The vessel had aboard the usual number of 
notables. The editor-in-chief of the London Times 
was the one most interesting to us. Lacy Lucky, 
" our writer lady," met and introduced him to the 
party. He had piercing black eyes, and his per- 



TWO HEMISPHERES 89 

sonality was one to command attention. He was 
just the man one would expect to find at the head 
of the oracle of the British nation. Our path again 
crossed that of the Forrests, and sooner than we had 
expected. Their plan was to leave the ship at 
Marseilles and journey on to London by rail. 

After the rough passage on the Mediterranean, 
one welcomes the rugged coast of Crete as a safe 
refuge. Fortunately, it was a clear day when we 
passed through the Straits of Messina, and we had 
a fine view of Sicily and of the olive groves and 
quaint old villages of Southern Italy. 

The sunlight filtered through the misty clouds 
hanging over Mount Etna, and we caught glimpses 
of the snow upon the mountain side. Stromboli 
looked like a mighty giant coming out of the sea. 
As we passed them, Corsica and Sardinia were mere 
shadows in the gathering gloom. 

On the French Riviera, with its orange groves and 
vineyards, one cannot cease wondering at the wealth 
of loveliness. Narcissuses, hyacinths, and purple 
pansies are planted in terraces far up the moun- 
tains. In the valley, amid the clover fields, are pink- 
roofed villas, and upon lofty rocks, overlooking the 
Mediterranean, are the chateaux. The long white 
roads of France, fringing the coast, encourage 
jaunts by motor car, and we saw many scorching 
away for some place in great haste. 

Sheltered by the Maritime Alps and surrounded 
by the most beautiful scenery in all Europe, Nice, 



90 SPRING DAYS IN 

Monaco, and Mentone, the winter resorts of the Con- 
tinent, rest secure from the chill winds of the North. 
At this season " the smart set " fills to overflowing 
these seaside towns. The wonderful exhibit of Paris 
bonnets and gowns would have astounded " Sa- 
manthy " of Saratoga fame. 

At the hotel where we were stopping in Nice, we 
saw King Oscar dining. He looked every inch a 
King, though dressed in conventional black without 
a brass button or a yard of gold lace to proclaim 
his royalty. 

Nice's flower carnival was in full blast ; the spirit 
of jollification was abroad. The dripping rain 
seemed not to dampen, but rather to add to, the 
enjoyment of the merry-makers. The bands played 
and maskers danced, in couples or singly, down the 
avenues ; and the rain poured on. 

In the late afternoon we went to Monte Carlo. 
The Casino is a handsome building set in a flower 
garden, and commands an unsurpassed view of the 
Mediterranean. Elegantly dressed people thronged 
the steps of the renowned gambling-place. In a 
spacious reception-hall an orchestra was softly play- 
ing and refreshments were being served. Removing 
our wraps, and turning them over to a waiting 
attendant, we entered a room and joined the crowd 
that stood about the roulette tables. Most of the 
players were French or Italian. One woman, in a 
stunning costume of white broadcloth, lost heavily; 
while a quietly dressed woman in black in five min- 



TWO HEMISPHERES 91 

utes made a pocketful of money — and, no doubt, 
as promptly lost it. I should like to have carried 
off, as a souvenir, one of the little rakes the croupiers 
so deftly handled. The gambling fever soars high 
at this season, and towards the midnight hours 
standing-room is at a premium. 

The scenery is just as beautiful on the Riviera 
in Italy as in France, but the fashionable throngs 
give place to crowds of peasants. The houses lose 
their new, well-kept appearance. They are old and 
moss-grown. Wide streets become narrow, zigzag 
alley-ways, the playgrounds of red-cheeked, brown- 
eyed children. 

Genoa, " that seat of brilliant aristocracy of 
other days," is situated upon hills sloping down to 
the Mediterranean. The houses are built in terraces, 
like the flowered terraces of France; but there is 
nowhere the mapped-out regularity of a garden. 

As we were mounting up to the Art Gallery of the 
Marquis Durazzo in Genoa, we came face to face 
with the Marquis himself, walking down his own 
marble staircase, an auspicious introduction, as we 
thought, to Europe's treasures in painting and 
sculpture. Hanging on the walls of this palace are 
paintings of nobles of past generations by Rubens 
and Van Dyck. There are other noble works by 
Andrea del Sarto and Titian. 

In the Royal Palace we were ushered through the 
throne, dining, and breakfast rooms. The king's 
apartments are decorated in red satin brocade; the 



92 SPRING DAYS IN 

queen's in blue. The inlaid floors of mahogany and 
ohve wood were frightfully slippery, so much so that 
we were unable to centre our attention on anything 
save the maintenance of a perpendicular position. 
With fugitive glances at the gold and brocade fur- 
nishings scattered about, we hastily retreated and 
bent our steps toward the house all Americans seek 
out, the house of Columbus. It looked no different 
from the other top-heavy buildings of Genoa. There 
was only a simple marble tablet above the door, with 
his name chiselled thereon, to distinguish the house 
from its fellows. 

Sheets of rain enveloped the mountains near 
Carrara, and Pisa looked uninviting upon the raw 
day we set out for Rome. We reached our des- 
tination at midnight, but it was not too dark for 
us to see the Tiber that recalled our youthful study 
of classical geography. One who sojourned in the 
Papal City twenty-three years ago explained, on a 
drive to the Coliseum, " The Village Improvement 
Society has been busy in Rome." So it has. It has 
swept the great city clean for the globe-trotter to 
walk its streets. 

Though it was early spring, many of our coun- 
trymen had arrived before us. You need unlimited 
time, a rested body, and a fresh mind, and the knowl- 
edge that can only be acquired by months of previous 
study to appreciate even feebly the glories of Rome. 
We browsed, nibbling fragments, and endeavoring 
to content ourselves with a few things well seen. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 93 

Historians tell of the exact height, circumference, 
and the different architectural valuations of the 
Coliseum. But you cannot comprehend the subHmity 
of the ruin until you stand in the Arena, surrounded 
by its weather-stained, age-old decay. Ferns grow 
in the niches of the cells where once the beasts were 
confined. The galleries, rising tier above tier, are 
mouldering into dust. Soon the Coliseum will be re- 
stored so that, as in the case of a certain Venus I 
have in mind, no one save a savant will be able to tell 
where the original ends and the restoration begins. 

Egypt's mosques and Rome's churches are com- 
pletely different in the adornment of their sanctu- 
aries. The barrenness of the Egyptian mosques is 
repellent ; but the decoration of St. Peter's is so 
pronounced that it is hard to remember its relation 
to the Comforter of the Lowly. 

Florence — the Florence of Browning — ^was damp 
and chilly. The inexperienced traveller is likely to 
imagine Paris and Florence as veritable flower- 
gardens whose streets are sprinkled with attar of 
roses. But the reality brings its disillusions. In 
the Ufizzi and Pitti palaces, however, are many old 
pictures dear to all of us, and these compensate for 
the other disappointments of Florence. There are, 
too, in Florence, as in Rome and Venice, scores of 
little cupboard shops, in which it is as pleasant to 
dissipate small change as it is in Paris to fling away 
gold for frills and furbelows. 

In our haste to gobble up Europe, we took a night 



94 SPRING DAYS IN 

train for Venice, which arrived at five in the morn- 
ing. The memory of this rare, moonlit morning on 
the canals sets Venice apart in our minds and hearts 
from the other cities of Italy. The only disturbing 
element within the sleeping city, other than ourselves, 
was the tinkling bells of the milkmen. Fancy hav- 
ing the breakfast cream brought to the back door 
in a gondola ! 

The loveliness of Venice, like that of a professional 
beauty, is enhanced by evening. The twinkling 
lights reflected in the water-ways, the snatches of 
boatmen's songs, the gondolas gliding to and fro 
make the enchantment which is absent in daylight. 
Venice is miserably cold in winter, and scorching 
hot in summer. The canals of Venice in summer are 
thronged with children ; what becomes of them in 
winter and early spring I cannot imagine. 

For lovers of real lace, Venice is a Mecca; so we 
tarried long in a few of the best shops. Venetian 
glass in mass is bewildering; but a single vase — 
one fragile cup — ^is exquisite. 

I fed the cooing pigeons of St. Mark's, while wait- 
ing for the sun to set. The coloring of a Venetian 
sunset, though brilliant, is hardly more so than that 
of many I have watched from our own veranda at 
home in Texas. 

We were grateful for our day in Milan. The 
cathedral there inspires me more with a religious 
feeling than either St. Mark's or St. Peter's. Built 
in the shape of a Latin cross, upheld by a thousand 



TWO HEMISPHERES 95 

columns, crowned with dainty spires, and glorified 
inside with stained-glass windows, it is to me the 
church of Europe. It is a pity that the cathedral 
is cramped for space around it. 

To those who are dismayed by my criticism of 
Italy, I will sajT^ that Italy is to be viewed through 
spectacles couleur de rose and not with the clear eye 
of impartiality. Italy lives in past glory, resting 
upon her laurels ; and to many that is sufficient. 

Steamship Minnetonka, Atlantic Ocean, 

April 25, 190—. 

With exclamations of admiration and delight, 
we saw for the first time the Alps in snowy cover- 
ing. The tourist more often treasures in memory its 
sunny hillsides in garments green. The villages 
fringing the lakes seem about to slide into the water, 
so oppressively near them tower the mountains as if 
to elbow them off. Icicles hang from the eaves of the 
houses, which are very nearly buried under the 
drifts of snow. The men who congregated at the 
wayside stations, with their fur caps sprinkled with 
snow, looked like polar bears. However, the ice and 
snow had begun to break up when we arrived, and 
was melting into tiny cascades and rivulets that 
fed the lakes below. Even here delicate flowers were 
springing up in sheltered nooks, signs of spring's 
advent. We rested overnight at Basle on the edge 
of the Swiss territory, and continued the journey 
to Paris the next day. 



96 SPRING DAYS IN 

The open country in France is as tidy as a child's 
playhouse, with not a stick or stone to mar the 
cleanness of the landscape. I fancy a lawn-mower 
could easily be used on all the country between Basle 
and Paris. 

We arrived in Paris just at dinner-time, and 
found the city buried in a dreary mist. My neck 
soon ached from much craning, and my eyes smarted 
from much staring at fashionable gowns. The 
Frenchwoman is generally considered the model of 
fashion. Conservative American women, however, 
may find the colors on bonnets and gowns too pro- 
nounced for their tastes, and may prefer a Paris 
creation that has been modified in New York. 

While the bad weather continued, we hunted for 
Paris bargains ; but on the first fine day we were 
up and away to Versailles. Our ten days in Paris 
had gone, almost before we knew it: in drives on 
the Champs Elysees, in the Bois de Boulogne, and 
in many a quiet hour at the Louvre. We wished 
there had been ten more, but we were whisked away 
to London by the shortest route. 

Having in mind the little rhyme which runs: 

' ' There was a young man from Ostend, 
Who said he'd hold out to the end ; 

But on his way over from Calais to Dover, 
He done what he didn't intend," 

we maintained a horizontal position throughout the 
passage from Dieppe to New Haven. 



TWO HEMISPHERES 97 

As we journeyed to London, the wide stretch of 
green meadows filled us with a great content. We 
were no longer in a strange land amid the babble 
of foreign tongues, but in a place akin to home. 
The hawthorn was budding, and the gorse unfold- 
ing its yellow leaves just as they had been in the 
South Sea. We had seen peach trees in bloom 
six times in six places during the course of the half- 
year; and now was the seventh time within the 
year. 

Ten days in London sped by with Httle rain 
to mar them. We then eagerly packed up our 
land-trunks, labelled the steamer trunks, and with 
glad hearts stepped upon the gang-plank of the 
Minnetonka. 

The weather was bad and the passengers few, 
for the tide of travel was flowing the other way. 
A noted French bareback- rider, who was on her way 
to the New York Hippodrome, was on the steamer, 
and had her beautiful horses on board. We went one 
morning to see the horses. They turned their glossy 
necks and pricked up their ears at our approach, 
while their eyes seemed to inquire, " Why this strange 
imprisonment.'' " 

Here is my last entry as the steamer approaches 
America: The time grows short, the hours few; but 
it is still long before we can expect the pilot to come 
aboard. We are, nevertheless, " packed up " and 
ready and eager to land. A mist of rain does not 
lessen in the least the excitement of our homecoming, 



98 SPRING DAYS IN TWO HEMISPHERES 

nor does it entirely obscure Coney Island, our be- 
loved skyscrapers, nor yet the Goddess of Liberty, 
whom we gravely salute as the Minnetonka creeps 
by. And as we greet loved ones, after seven months 
of absence, we feel sure that " homekeeping hearts 
are best." 



1 1908 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 648 882 9 



